


Shattered Memory: Dark Magic

by SilverDireWolf



Series: Shattered Memory [1]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, NCIS, Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1
Genre: Alternate Universe, Ancient Technology, Dark Magic, Death, Goa’uld, Goa’uld Amun God of Invisibility...The Hidden God, Goa’uld Heh God of Infinity and Eternal Life, Goa’uld Kek God of Darkness and Chaos, Goa’uld Nun God of Chaos and Primordial Waters, Multi, Prophecy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:41:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 24,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24236704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverDireWolf/pseuds/SilverDireWolf
Summary: Dark Magic has hidden a terrifying secret...a secret that gives rise to an ancient prophecy of utter darkness and chaos that a devastating attack brings to bear that could destroy the Earth and the very Universe itself. A prophecy of devastation and doom.
Series: Shattered Memory [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1769413
Comments: 28
Kudos: 48





	1. Shattered Memory

"Lily!"

"Lily run...he's here!" ,he cried out in horror, a deep hoarse shout slipping from his throat once more as he tossed his head back and forth in denial, his fists clenching the sweaty sheets in a fierce grip. The utter terror of the moment made him freeze as he was confronted with his worst nightmare before being hit with an overwhelmingly excruciating feeling of pain. 

  
"Run!" ,he screamed out in agony to her once more as the burning torture caused his heart to stutter again and again before stopping. He was still as death for several long aching minutes before he gasped out loud once more to scream in terror as he could not move from where he laid to save them. Hearing her plead over and over for him not to kill their child tortured him even more as the wail of a child's cry stopped and utter silence reigned in the darkness of his memory. The dark ruled as he laid on the cooling sheets, still once more....pleading with death to save them, to take him instead of his loved ones.

  
"Please....please!" ,he whispered to death to give them back. Tears ran down his face as he tossed in his torment, unable to stop the plea that tore from his lips before he clenched his jaws knowing even in the depths of sleep that he would not be given that gift. His breathing slowed once more as the nightmare slowly faded away, deep sleep taking him swiftly under before a sharp shrill cry startled him awake. 

  
"What?" Gibbs growled angrily as he fumbled the cell phone open to answer the call, silently cursing as he glimpsed the time. "This had better be important! I just got to sleep a few hours ago."

  
"Sorry Boss!" Agent Torres winced in silent sympathy. "I know this was our weekend off of rotation but Dispatch just called. Balboa is already dealing with another case of multiple homicide across town and we've been assigned to the Smithsonian Museum as we just received a call that there's a body that's one of ours."

  
"Okay.” Gibbs sighed tiredly before grimacing as he felt a headache start up. "I'll meet you there as soon as I can."

  
"Yes Boss!"

  
Hitting the cancel button hard and tossing the phone on the side table, Gibbs ran a frustrated hand through his hair before gathering himself and stumbling to the bathroom. He held still as the freezing cold water ran over his sweat soaked head for several long moments before raising up to the mirror to stare at himself in the eyes. For a split second he expected to see warm brown instead of familiar ice cold blue eyes causing him to blink in puzzlement before shaking his head and grabbing a towel to dry off.

  
"Lily" ,he whispered softly.

  
"Who the hell is Lily?" Gibbs questioned himself with a frown as he thought back on the nightmare, probbing the barely remembered images that had tortured him just minutes ago as they faded. He thought of everyone he knew and could not think of anyone by that name. The utter terror and helplessness that he had undergone felt like nothing he'd ever experienced before, giving him a deep sense of wrongness and foreboding. Giving himself a quick shake of the head he realized he didn't have time to worry about a dream, even if it had felt like something more. He needed to get his ass moving as quickly as possible to get to the site of the new case.

  
After a quick shave and combing his silver grey hair, he closed his eyes for a long moment before opening them to stare once more at his ice cold blue eyes, then, breathing deeply, and with a weary sigh, he turned and grabbed his jacket as he left to go deal with another dead body and the evil it entailed. 

  
  


*****


	2. Death and Chaos Meet

Eternal Life In Ancient Egypt - Natural Museum 

  
Gibbs gunned the engine and cranked the steering wheel in a deft maneuver that slid his yellow Challenger, with bare inches to spare, into a free space between the nondescript F.B.I and NCIS sedans parked in front of the Smithsonian Museum. Nick Torres, who was opening the trunk to get his and the rest of his team's supplies, gave a startled yell, and with a twisting jerk that knocked the ball cap off his head, he backed forcibly into Fornell, muttering a quick apology as he accidentally rammed his elbow solidly into the ex F.B.I. Agent's gut. Fornell, who had been leaning against the car talking on his cellphone grunted in pain from being winded by the blunt force to his stomach, but also as the hot coffee he had been holding, splashed onto his hand and jacket. 

"Goddamn it, Gibbs!" Fornell swore as he wiped ineffectively at the mess, throwing a scowl at the culprit, that was promptly ignored. "Stop driving like a bloody maniac!"

"There's nothing wrong with my driving! You guys are all a bunch of wusses.", Gibbs said with a small smirk of amusement at the reprimand and decided to forgo any further comment about his driving skills as he grabbed his forensic bag from the back seat. "So...what's the situation?"

"Two bodies, Boss!" Torres quickly answered as he swiftly bent down to grab his cap that had fallen onto the pavement. "The preliminary report indicates that the bodies were found laying in front of the Egyptian Canopic Jar funerary display area on the second floor of the Natural History Museum."

"Where's McGee and Bishop?" Gibbs grunted, swiftly climbing the stairs that lead to the main doors, scanning the area quickly for anything that looked out of place. He felt a deep sense of unease that had him peering around with an intense glare. The late hour gave the deep shadows a threatening feel that he couldn't shake off. Usually he wasn't one to let the heebee-jeebees get to him but something definitely felt off about the whole thing. The fact that it was Halloween and a full moon to boot made it even creepier to be walking past dead animals and skeletons as they walked towards the Egyptian display hall on the second floor.

"They went on ahead just a few minutes before you arrived. One of the guards wanted to show them the area that is off limit without special invitation. They have a very important party of big wigs spread out across the first floor in the Ocean Terrace Cafe and the Ancient Fossil display area." Torres grimaced as he felt the glare from Gibbs. "They got permission to continue their party because it's on a separate floor with tight security. It's a Halloween Party being hosted by the Vice President and a hell of a lot of other VIP's...a.k.a Very Important People who don't have to listen to us!"

"Fuck!" Gibbs snarled in fury, knowing that he wouldn't be able to toss them all out of the Museum no matter how much pleasure he would get from it. "Assholes!"

"Better watch it, Gibbs!" Fornell laughed, shaking his head as he knew Gibbs would react this way. "The Secretary of the Navy is also present tonight!"

"Porter is here tonight?" Gibbs frowned in deep puzzlement as the last he'd heard from Director Vance was that she was headed out to Camp David for a very important conference involving the President and some obscure head honcho who ran black ops shit out of a nonexistent office in the Pentagon that nobody talked about even though they all knew it existed. Like Area 51. It was there, but not there, if you got the "we don't talk about this shit" memo and left it alone.

"Huh...well let's get this processed so I can go home and sleep!" Gibbs sighed in exhaustion, barely having slept in the last 48 hours between way too much work and recurring nightmares. "Torres, find out when Palmer will arrive and direct him to the second floor....all we need is for him to wander into the Vice President asking where the body is!"

"Will do!" Torres said with a laugh as he pulled out his cell to direct Palmer to the right floor. "I've never seen a person with a worse sense of direction...though he use to blame it on Doctor Mallard."

"Ha!" Fornell laughed, having witnessed the current Medical Examiner's sense of direction. "Ducky always had a good tale to tell about Palmer getting them lost that kept the F.B.I. Coroner staff in stitches any time they worked together!"

"Well...they both couldn't tell North from South any time I was in the truck with them!" Gibbs shook his head in disbelief. "They have GPS installed for heaven's sake! It shouldn't be that big of a problem."

"Your team is always a hoot Gibbs!" Fornell gave a snort of laughter and shook his head.

"Well, enough talk..." Gibbs smirked. "Let's get this show on the road."

_________________________________________

  
Sarcophagus and Canopic Jar Display Case

  
"Boss!" Agent McGee called as he waved them over to the two dead bodies that laid sprawled in an ungainly haphazard manner in front of a broken display case depicting the Egyptian God Osiris. "Palmer just called in, he said he would be pulling up in a few minutes, and that he was just trying to find a parking spot. With the party going on the available space is limited."

"Well, start processing the scene. Bishop, take pictures of the surrounding scene while Torres takes pictures of the body. McGee, finish interviewing the guards and any witnesses!"

"Will do Boss!" McGee stated as he swiftly directed Bishop and Torres to get to work, not wanting to bring down the wrath of Gibbs on their collective heads if they didn't hustle.

"Fornell, ask Agent Anderson to get access to the cameras that are focused on this room and the halls. Also...tell the F.B.I agents to keep a keen eye." Gibbs ordered as he glanced around with a frown, the dread gathering deep in his gut as he peered at the deep shadows gathering in the corners. "Something is off so be aware. I want you guys to keep an eye on each other. My gut is screaming that something is wrong about this whole thing. It could be lack of sleep over the last two days but I've had less sleep and never felt like this."

Wandering around to get a feel of the display area and estimating the various angles of the bodies in comparison to the hall exits, the dread intensified, growing so strong that he had to stop and grasp at the wall to hold himself upright for a second. He shuddered, drawing the air in so deep he almost hyper-ventilated, feeling the urge to growl as he had never felt so unsettled before at a crime scene. The layout was just wrong. There was just no way the attack had come from the hall. It had to have come from the display case, among the broken Canopic Jars or even one of the mummy cases. Something hiding there...but he couldn't see how anyone wouldn't notice a human, there was no space available for someone to be in the case, let alone, how they would have gotten in there in the first place.

"Hi Gibbs!" Palmer waved as he arrived with a gurney and two body bags. He walked over towards Torres who was still taking pictures, squatting down swiftly to examine the bodies. Turning the head of the first victim he grunted in surprise as he discovered a massive rupture at the back of the neck. "That's odd."

"What?" Gibbs grunted as he knelt down, knees twinging in pain at the maneuver, beside Palmer and the body. "What's odd?"

"Look at this entrance wound...", Palmer pointed with a gloved finger. "See how it pushes the flesh out?"

"Yes." 

"Well, at first glance," Palmer grimaced with deep unease as he scanned the area around him, "It looks like something forced it's way out of the victim's body instead of something being shoved in like a knife or some other kind of weapon. Plus, there's some kind of gel coating the exit wound. If I didn't think it sounded too much like a horror story gone bad I would say something like a giant bug escaped from inside the poor guy."

"What about the other victim?"

"Well...", Palmer said with a puzzled frown, shifting to get a closer look. "I don't see any exit wound or anything on him. From the colour of his lips I would say he had a heart attack. I would need to do an autopsy to confirm, but that's my initial finding."

"Damn!" Gibbs shook his head in disbelief, a growl building slowly in the back of his throat. "So the first victim most likely looked like a scene from the movie Aliens and the second victim dropped dead from fright?"

"Ah...yeah." Palmer gave a small grimace at the look on Gibbs face. Shivering, he glanced around him to make sure there was no creepy crawlies near him. God, he hated bugs.

"McGee!" Gibbs waved him over as he saw him approaching with Fornell. "Palmer says that something organic came out of this dead Marine. Keep a close eye on your surroundings and warn everyone to watch out for some type of deadly bug. Think of the movie Aliens and exploding chests." Gibbs mumbled low under his breath, "...can't believe I actually said that...where's DiNozzo when you need him!"

Gibbs shook his head once more before giving a hard glance at the display case, seeing four broken Canopic jars. He hoped they wouldn't have to deal with that many bugs crawling around. They could be anywhere.

"Fornell!" said Gibbs, an intense tone conveying his mood. "Go tell those stupid bastards the party's over! Something is wrong and I need them out of here. Shut the whole place down and get some F.B.I agents to do a sweep."

"Shit!" Fornell muttered, wondering how he would manage to get the Vice President and his entourage to leave based simply on Gibbs' gut instinct. He personally would leave because he trusted Gibbs, but how to convince another who didn't was the real problem. Especially considering it might be bugs,...giant bugs. "Damn it all! Give me the difficult job, why don't you?"

'Just go!" Gibbs smirked in amusement for a bare second, before the seriousness of the situation overtook him once more. "McGee, Bishop, Torres....keep an eye out! We don't know for sure but Palmer thinks that giant bugs are the culprit. They tore out the back of this Marine's neck leaving a huge hole in it...so, they are probably quite large, be careful."

"Bugs!" Torres mouthed silently at McGee and Bishop, giving a shudder as he spun around looking for the critters. 

"Yuck!" Bishop exclaimed, not a huge fan herself of bugs. "I hate bugs....give me a guy armed with a weapon any day! Why did it have to be bugs!!"

"Palmer, wrap it quick!" Gibbs ordered, "I want the team out of here and some exterminators brought in to deal with this. So hustle!"

"On it, Boss!" McGee nodded, gesturing to Bishop and Torres to finish collecting samples and pack up. "It'll only take us a second."

"Good. I want us out of here NOW!" Gibbs grimaced, not liking how spooked he sounded. It unsettled him that he couldn't seem to calm down. He found the constant urge to growl, snap, and snarl at everyone deeply worrying. Wanting to tear into someone and eviscerate them was getting to almost a pathological level of intensity. 

The shrill ring of his cell interrupted his thoughts. Gibbs growled, "What?"

"Gibbs...the Vice President is refusing to leave." Fornell replied to the harsh tone with a roll of his eyes. "Also...the President is just now coming through the front doors. It seems he decided at the last minute to join the party!"

"Goddamn it!" Gibbs swore. "Fucking fantastic...I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Fuck!" Gibbs growled once more as he cancelled the call. "I'm going to head over to the party to get them to leave. So finish up while I'm gone."

"Move it!" Gibbs ordered once more with a harsh bark as he headed towards the front entrance to head off the President.

__________________________________

Fossil Display Area...Natural Museum

  
"Mr. President!" Vice President Penn warmly greeted the man coming into the party area, along side another man that he looked at with a grimace and small mou of distaste. "Major General O'Neill."

"Mr. Vice President." O'Neill nodded, with a cold blank face, not bothered that the man in front of him did not like him in the least. The feeling was mutual. "The President insisted that I join him at your swanky little Halloween Party." Heavy sarcasm permeated the air as O'Neill stated further, "He said it would be quote "fun" unquote!"

President Teller laughed at the further grimace that spread uncontrollably across the Vice President's face in reaction to O'Neill's sarcastic tone of voice. The two men were like oil and water. They did not mix well at all. He found the whole thing funny himself and took pains to throw them together as often as possible as a means to amuse himself. He had decided that being President had to have some enjoyable perks since he had discovered it was an absolutely thankless job otherwise. He still wondered what madness ever made him run for the highest office in the country in the first place and who he pissed off enough to curse him to win the nomination...it had only been ten months since being sworn in to office and he was already thinking that he might only be there for one term. Especially since the Republicans were being absolute bastards in regards to confirming anyone he selected to fill the various empty departments...he understood quite well that they had different philosophies and goals but some compromise would be appreciated just to get things moving along instead of the constant stalemate. 

"Come gentlemen!" President Teller laughed again as he gestured towards the bar. "Let's grab a drink and unwind a little."

"Mr. President!" One of the Secret Agents hovering around them gestured a hold sign, raising a hand to his ear mic to listen for a moment, before he glanced towards a man that could be seen arguing fiercely with the security at the cut off area. "We might have a problem."

"Really....we just got here!" 

"Yes...", Secret Agent Smith, listening intently to his ear mic again, frowned, "It seems that two bodies were discovered on the second floor and an Agent Gibbs is insisting that we leave the building immediately."

"Two bodies?" O'Neill sharply butted into the conversation. "Where?"

"Agent Fornell!" Secret Agent Smith quickly waved the man over towards them. "Please relay to the President and Major General O'Neill the situation."

"It’s actually consultant now, not Agent." Fornell glanced at the Secret Agent with a slight frown. "As I was trying to tell the Vice President...we have two dead bodies on the second floor. One of the victims had extremely unusual wounds that caused the lead investigator, Agent Gibbs of NCIS to declare this a hazard situation and has indicated that all guests must immediately leave the premise without exception."

"I don't see why!" Vice President Penn argued, "The deaths happened way over on the second floor and there are more than enough security to deal with the situation."

"Well...", Fornell hesitated a split second before shrugging with a small grin. "When Agent Gibbs tells you to get the fuck out...usually it's a good idea to listen and do the exact thing he advised you to do. His instinct is legendary in law enforcement and everyone knows to stay out of his way when he's working a crime scene. So my best advice, Mr. President, ...Mr. Vice President...is for you gentlemen and your guests to leave the Museum."

"I really do not think that is necessary!" Vice President Penn stated stiffly, disliking being told what to do by some mere consultant. "We are quite secure in this location."

"I really...", Fornell frowned, starting to insist that they listen to him, when he happened to glimpse Gibbs on his way over towards them. "Well...here comes Agent Gibbs now. I'm sure he will be happy to relay to you the situation in full."

O'Neill turned his head and watched as a silver haired man stalked his way towards them, the intensity of the ice blue glare that was directed towards the small group surrounding the President caused the Secret Agents to shift uncomfortably in reaction. 

The President lifted an eyebrow and glanced quickly at O'Neill to gauge his reaction, finding him standing absolutely still with a deep frown on his face, as he himself unconsciously straightened slightly at the threat radiating off the swift approaching figure. 

"Leave!" Gibbs ordered with a growl, not even bothering to greet the President. Something he would normally do as is proper for a Federal Agent but the situation was causing all his instincts to react and he somehow knew they didn't have any time to spare for niceties before it all went pear shape and the shit hit the fan. "I want every single person out of this building immediately."

"Just who do you think you are to order us about?" Vice President Penn demanded in anger.

"Agent Gibbs!” Gibbs growled with a hard glare. "The man who will kick your ass if you do not leave immediately."

"What's the situation?" O'Neill asked, coughing slightly, having to swallow a desperate urge to laugh at Penn’s shocked face. "Two dead bodies were mentioned?"

Gibbs glanced at the Major General, swiftly taking in all the combat metals fully displayed on the dress uniform, even some that he didn't recognize before answering. "Yes. We were processing the bodies on the second floor when my M.E stated that the wounds were extremely unusual and could not have been made by a weapon...instead he found organic material around the exit point that implies something crawled out of the Marine from inside of him. Some sort of bug is the current working hypothesis."

"Bugs!" Vice President Penn laughed in disbelief, sneering at man in front of them. "Are you insane!"

"Yes...Bugs!" Gibbs stated coldly, not even glancing at Penn to convey his disdain, but the tone carrying it across none the less. "Now leave!"

"Where did you discover these bodies?" O'Neill asked sharply, in an extremely tense tone of voice, hoping to high hell that he wasn't about to hear what he absolutely knew he was about to hear. 

"The bodies were discovered laying on the ground just in front of a display case of broken Egyptian Canopic funerary jars on the second floor."

"Damn it!" O'Neill exclaimed in anger and exasperation. "I thought we got all those bastards."

"Jack!" President Teller worried at the reaction. "What is it?"

"What I was discussing with you at Camp David...it's one of those situations." O'Neill quickly dug his cellphone out of his pocket and hit the first name that came up. "Code red situation....get a sweep team at the Smithsonian immediately. Now! No delay, we have the President and the Vice President on site along with various V.I.P.s foreign and domestic!"

"What?" Vice President Penn scoffed. "This over some bug?"

"Not a bug....it's a snake!" O'Neill stated with a grimace. "Nasty things!"

Gibbs blinked several times at the swift reaction, having expected to have to argue some more about the need for people to leave, as immediately Major General O'Neill took charge, and suddenly Marine troops seemed to simply appear out of nowhere to start herding the guests towards the doors. 

"Time to go Mr. President!" O'Neill ordered, waving at the Marines to escort the President and Vice President to safety. "Now!"

Shaking his head slightly to clear his thoughts as he realized that O'Neill was the Pentagon black ops spook that Secretary Porter was meeting with earlier at Camp David, Gibbs turned to head back to his team when he noticed an odd reaction from one of the guards close to the Vice President that raised the hackles on his neck...he stared intently for several long moments when he suddenly saw it again, a slight flare of light in the eyes that nobody else seemed to see.

"Hold!" Gibbs growled, stalking towards the man with the intent to talk to him, when suddenly the eyes flared a deep gold and a wave of immense power struck out at him. The force of the blow threw him with a crash into a display case that broke beneath him in a shower of glass as people started to scream from being slashed by the shards. 

Sounds of exploding glass and gunfire echoed throughout the hall as it descended into utter chaos. Screams of terror and panic echoed and re-echoed throughout the room as glass exploded from case after case. Blood spraying in large droplets everywhere when a large dinausaur skeleton collapsed, smashing down on a group of people who had been cowering behind a large display. An obscenely large pool of blood seeped out from under the collapse skeleton that mingled with the blood that was slowly collecting under him. 

Trying to focus, Gibbs gave a painful shake of his head, ears ringing, as he regained some awareness having been knocked out for a split second. Intense pain hit him when he raised one hand to wipe away some of the wetness of the blood that continued to drip into his eyes, it made it difficult for him to see what was going on. To see if he could help anyone. Not that it felt like he was going anywhere soon. Trying again, he strained to see, to find out what was happening, but his eyes continued to go in and out of focus. 

No...he was definitely not going anywhere soon as he felt his awareness start to fade. Tentively trying again to move before he ended up unconscious, he grunted in pain, he could feel that a piece of glass was sticking out of his back causing him intense discomfort. 

Pinning him like an insect to the display case. 

Yes, he definitely wasn't going anywhere any time soon by all indications. Moving slightly to try to ease the pain made him gasp, the gasp turning to a scream at the sudden tearing pain in the back of his neck.  



	3. Gods of Chaos Awaken

Fossil Display Area...Natural Museum

  
Gibbs shuddered from the unbearable pain of the scream that had been ripped from him just seconds ago before another scream forced it's way from his throat that seemed to triple in intensity when he moved to get away from what was ripping into the back of his neck, causing the glass that was pinning him to the display to plung like a hot knife ever deeper into his back, holding him even tighter to the case, unable to get away from the torment.

Grunting and shuddering as the pain shifted throughout his body, he felt something slowly slither down his throat with a slimy feel as he gagged and choked, unable to breathe...he felt himself panic and tried desperately to hack up the foreign object. Something scrapped and jabbed deep inside his body, forcing it's way into his flesh, again and again, before piercing deep into his brain with a blinding pain that almost made him pass out. A flare of pure agony that seemed to last for an eternity.  
  
Slowly...ever so slowly...the pain faded away and he could feel himself getting drowsy, just riding on a small cloud of relief as he could feel his body healing from within. How and why it was happening didn't seem that important. Just the fact he didn't feel any pain was a blessing at the moment. He could stay like this forever. 

Just to slip under and let go...that it didn't matter anymore. It just felt so good to feel absolute peace and quiet. No pain, no memories, no nightmares...just pure bliss. "Just let go...let go" it whispered. "Let go. Rest. For all eternity...you can rest. Rest...for all eternity."

...eternity.

Gibbs felt his mind about to slip under when he thought about that. Eternity. Puzzled, he felt himself growing more aware, probing that thought once more. Where did he see that word? Eternity.

...eternity.

Gibs growled as he felt that foreign thought push him down once more...trying to push him deep down into nothingness. So deep he would have eternal rest....death. 

Death...that thought haunted him, to finally be with his loved ones once more. Death! But death had never been his friend. Never gave him back what he truly wanted...his family. 

Drifting on the hazy thoughts he realized he wasn't ready to rest for all eternity. Wasn't ready to give up...he wanted to live not embrace death. Pushing back against the foreign thoughts coaxing him to give in, he grew slowly stronger in his desire to live and not give up. The push to let go intensified as the presence tried harder to make him let go...making him unconsciously clench his teeth. He knew he had to resist as hard as he could as the alien fought for dominance within his own mind. The alien was trying to take him over...he could feel it burrowing away into his brain. He could feel his control slipping as he heard cold laugher at his efforts.

Alien thoughts whispered "You will fail, human...your race is pathetic and weak, mere playthings for us to enjoy. You will bow down before your god, I Heh, God of Infinity and Eternal Life. I have existed since the beginning of time, living for eons...long before this planet created life and was just a molten ball of lava. I have roamed the Universe and billions have bowed before me. Let your mind rest" it hissed. "Rest."

Gibbs felt his body rise up from the ground with no effort from him. When he tried to direct his body, the alien presence coldly laughed once more with a cruel edge of glee as he failed.

Looking around at the death and utter destruction being rendered by his siblings Kek, God of Chaos and Darkness, and Nun, God of Chaos and Primordial Water, Heh laughed once more before joining his brothers in teaching these worms a lesson in humility, delighted that their long slumber had finally come to an end. It was once again time to become the gods they had been since the birth of the Universe. They would rule supreme over all Creation when they reunited with the other God of Chaos.

  
____________________________

Rotunda Entrance - Natural Museum

  
"Fuck!" O'Neill yelled as the Giant Ground Sloth display just missed collapsing on him and President Teller as it was blasted apart. "Move faster, Mr. President!"

"I'm trying, Jack!" President Teller snapped back as he sprinted even faster towards the front entrance, almost stepping on O'Neill. He slowed abruptly to grab a dazed Vice President Penn by the arm as he tripped and almost fell after being hit in the head by flying glass.

Dragging the Vice President and the President along, with the Secret Service and Marines surrounding them, O'Neill quickly scanned the room to see what was happening. He couldn't believe how rapidly the situation had deteriorated from a pleasant evening to a desperate sprint for their lives. 

Seeing the utter chaos around him, he tried to manuever around the large pedestal of the African bush elephant that dominated the middle of the rotunda. He realized it was going to be impossible to get out the front entrance as it was blocked by a huge crowd of partygoers desperately trying to get out of harm's way.

"Shit!" O'Neill muttered, knowing instinctively that there was no getting out that way in time. He looked around again to try to figure out the most defensible spot to barricade the President and Vice President. Glancing towards the Hall of Mammals he realized it was too exposed and had too many potentially hazardous elements for the snakes to use against them. He rejected the Ocean Hall for the same reasons before seeing the sign leading to the Baird Auditorium on the ground floor. Hopefully that would work.

"Head down to the Baird Auditorium!" O'Neill yelled over to the Secret Service and Marines, hauling the President in that direction before they could even protest. "Barricade the doors as soon as you get in there."

"Wait...why would we do that?" Vice President Penn protested, before gesturing wildly at the front entrance. "Let's leave through the doors right there!"

"No!" O'Neill stated coldly. "There's not enough time to get through that large crowd of panicked people before those snakes get here. There's no getting out that way."

"How the hell would you know that?" Vice President Penn shouted angrily. 

"Instinct!"

"I'm not listening to you and your stupid instinct!" Vice President Penn angrily huffed as he headed for the front door.

"Felix....get your butt back over here!" President Teller ordered. "We are all going down to the Auditorium as ordered and I want no arguments from you!"

"Move, people!" O'Neill ordered, sharply gesturing once more towards the stairs leading down to the Auditorium. "Now!"

"Agent Smith!" O'Neill barked out, "You and Agent Jones make sure the President and Vice President get barricaded in a secure room with a few of your best men at the back of the auditorium as far from the door as possible. Then fall back to the front doors and stand your position. The Marines and I will try to hold off the enemy for as long as we can at the top of the stairs."

"Yes Sir!" Agent Smith nodded in agreement, gesturing to Agent Jones to lead the way before herding his charges to the ground floor. "Come on, Mr. President...Mr. Vice President! I'll get you to a safe secure place."

"Jack!" President Teller nodded quietly in acceptance with a sad half smirk. "Please be careful. You're the only one who likes to go fishing with me! The rest of my cabinet hates the very thought of fish."

"No problem, Sir!" O'Neill laughed, "I'm an extremely hard man to kill and my lake is fully stocked waiting for us to crack a couple of cold ones."

"Marines!" O'Neill ordered. "Take up defense positions here at the top of the stairs and down on the ground floor."

  
  


"O'Neill!" Colonel Cameron Mitchell shouted as he, with Vala Mal Doran sprinting along right behind, came running as fast as he could through the door leading from the Fossil Room. "Something is blocking our communications and our ability to get people out of here. The Marines are trying to stop them but it's turning into a bloody massacre. The snakes seem impervious to our weapons....even the Zat's seem to have no effect no matter what we do!"

"Even with all the nice Asgard toys that we have?" O'Neill asked in disbelief. "What the hell?"

"Yes!" Mitchell nodded grimly. "Whatever they're using is superior to anything we have."

"How many snakes are we dealing with?" O'Neill asked as he gestured to half of the Marines to keep hustling the people as rapidly as possible away from the doors and down the stairs to a hopefully safer place, while the rest took up positions of defense around the rotunda.

"Three from what I could tell....maybe four!" Vala answered as she popped her bubblegum absently. "They're very powerful...never met them before."

"Damn it!"

"Yes...definitely going to be a problem." Vala muttered as she picked some glass out of her hair. 

"Vala!" Mitchell warned with a roll of his eyes as she continued to fix her hair, before sighing in resignation once more at her antics.

"Cameron!" Vala smirked, before returning to the job of scanning the hall for anything dangerous coming their way. 

"O'Neill, what are we going to do?" Mitchell asked softly. "There's no way to get out and we don't have the firepower to win."

"Shit!" O'Neill swore angrily, "There has to be something we can do to hold them off until Carter can figure out a way to stop them."

"Well...," Mitchell grimaced in slight disbelief. "I'll keep trying to re-establish communications."

"Yes." O'Neill ran a weary hand thru his almost totally white hair. He was definitely getting too old for this shit. It was a job for the much younger Jack these days. "See what you can do!"

"Vala, keep an eye peeled."

"Aye, aye, Colonel! Eyes peeled!" Vala nodded seriously, or as seriously as she could get, as she peered along the hall trying not to mistakenly shoot the fleeing party goers instead of the actual snakeheads. "Never a good thing to shoot party goers" she thought to herself, even if they were politicians and deserved a good scare for some of their stupid policies. "Not my place, so no shooting at politicians. Maybe one. NO! Bad girl!" Damn. No fun. These snakes were the definition of party poopers! Ruined a totally good party and everything.

As people continually ran crying and screaming in blind panic down the hall to the entrance to get away from the death behind them, O'Neill had all the Marines he could spare leading them down the stairs to safety without compromising the perimeter. At the same time, they had to stay alert, making sure there were no snakes hidden among them. 

Seeing a woman struggling to carry a crying little girl as she ran down the hall, O'Neill darted from behind a pillar to help, almost getting a knife in the eye for his trouble before he managed to stop the blade.

"Wow!" O'Neill smirked. "Easy there!"

"Sorry...you startled me!" 

"No problem!" O'Neil nodded his head towards the stairs leading down to the ground floor, "It'll be safer downstairs for you and your child."

"Ziva!"

"Tony!" Ziva cried in relief as he came running down the hall towards them. "I couldn't find you in the chaos."

"It's madness in there!" DiNozzo said, blood smeared over his face, as he ran to crouch behind the marble base of the African elephant. He grabbed hold of both Ziva and Talia, his relief at finding them almost overwhelming him. "I had hoped that you would run for the doors so I got here as fast as I could."

"Where's Senior?" Ziva asked anxiously. 

"Gone...", DiNozzo uttered slowly. "One of the displays fell onto him in the blast, or whatever it was that happened. He's gone, Ziva!"

"Oh, Tony!" Ziva cried as she hugged him tight. "I'm so sorry."

"Sorry to interrupt your grief folks!" O'Neill grimaced and gave them a look of apology. "All the doors leading out to the streets are locked down and nobody can get out of the building. I need you to head down to the ground floor and into the Auditorium."

"What the hell is going on?" DiNozzo glanced swiftly around the area before focusing on the man in front of him gesturing towards the stairwell, a Major General from his insignia. "Is it a terrorist attack?"

"Sort of." O'Neill frowned, before shrugging at his own reply, not really sure what to say. No time for an in-depth discussion.

"Ziva...go!" DiNozzo ordered. "Take Tali. I'll be down as soon as I contact Gibbs and the rest of NCIS to let them know what's going on!"

"Agent Gibbs?" O'Neill asked sharply, "He was in the hall with us when everything went to shit!"

"Goddamn it!" DiNozzo cursed, then asked anxiously, "Was he all right?"

"The last time I saw him he got blasted into a glass display case...", O'Neill hesitated before going on softly. "He didn't look good. I didn't have time to check on him. I had to get the President and Vice President out of there."

"I should go find out!" DiNozzo stated. "He might still be alive and need medical help."

"Sorry...", O'Neill grimaced with a frown. "We have a very dangerous situation and I can't allow any civilian back into the Fossil Room. The Marines are using everything they have to try and contain the situation."

"Fuck that...", DiNozzo swore angrily, standing threateningly in front of O'Neill. "I'm NOT leaving him to die."

"Listen!" O'Neill gestured sharply, "I understand how you feel but..."

BOOM!  
  
A spray of stone chips cut him off with a pained grunt as a sudden blast of power from the Fossil Room barreled down the hall decimating the last few stragglers that had been running to safety. Several of the Marines that were trying to protect them went down in a spray of blood and guts. The two middle columns took the brunt of the force in an explosion that pulverized them and coated everyone in the entrance with blood and clouds of dust as they collapsed to the ground coughing and moaning in pain.

Screams of pain echoed throughout the rotunda as three shapes walked slowly down the hall towards them, almost strolling leisurely, utterly unconcerned by the weapons pointed at them....eyes glowing with an eerie golden light that shone with delighted cruelty.

  


  



	4. Torture of the Innocent

Rotonda - Entrance Hall

"O'Neill!" 

"Yeah...yeah!" O'Neill groaned as he slowly regained consciousness, hearing Mitchell's yell before bending over to cough, and cough again, as he struggled to breathe through the thick dust that was swirling in the air, throat clogged with it, gagging, "I'm awake."

Fumbling around for his weapon that laid near him he had just barely managed to sit up when he was blasted backwards into the pedestal, knocking his head hard against the marble. 

"Ow!" O'Neill mumbled sarcastically, "Watch it. That hurt!"

Still barely conscious he raised his weapon, trying to focus, hoping he would get a lucky shot that would nail one of those asshole snakes in the head. He could feel his hand tremble and waver as he lined up the shot from where he laid collapsed on the ground, trying to focus at the hazy outlines of the three figures to take a shot. 

"Fuck!" As the shot bounced and continued to ricocheted several times before lodging into the marble pedestal by his head.

"Shit!"

Sounds of weapons firing fiercely echoed in the entrance, weapons firing over and over at the three figures as they stood there unconcerned, the bullets, and even the energy blasts from the zat's, not penetrating their shield at all, just bouncing and ricocheting all around the room, cries of pain erupting as they hit some of their own men unintentionally.

"Mitchell, Vala...!" O'Neill shouted in horror as he saw them fall in a spray of blood down the stairwell they had been guarding just a moment before, furious, at the wanton destruction caused by the snakes and the helplessness he felt.

"Weak, pitiful humans!"

An imposing figure of a black man stood arrogantly in front, commanding all eyes, as he negligently waved his hand and slammed aside the Marines that were arrayed around the hall, creating a path for him and his brothers as they strolled into the center of the room.

Bodies flying back to slam into the walls with the sound of breaking bones. Nobody able to withstand the overwhelming power that this figure could wield at his very command.

O'Neill gasped in pain himself as his gun was forcibly ripped from his grasp, and he was flung into the air with a simple wave of a hand, to smash against the extremely solid form of the elephant that dominated the hall. Slamming into it with such brutal force that he could feel several of his ribs break at the impact.

"I am the god Kek!"

Bodies again went flying at another simple wave of Kek's hand, slamming into the walls, the floor, the ceiling, and even each other, unable to stop as the power took hold of them and they became mere objects to be moved around at the power of another. Toys. Toys to be played with, manipulated, used however the owner wanted, even to their destruction. 

"Kek, God of Darkness and Chaos!"

Slam, crash, screams of pain...O'Neill felt himself lifted in the air again, only to be slammed into the elephant's form once more, ...pain...as his leg broke....hearing the screams of pain echoing as he laid helpless from where he had landed....barely conscious.

"We, the four mighty Gods of Chaos, are your rulers...you will bow down to us for all eternity as is our right. We who have been around since the beginning of the Universe."

"We are your masters and you will obey....,"  
  
"Gibbs!" DiNozzo blurted out in utter disbelief, horrified, and, deeply creeped out, as he glimpsed the cruel glowing gold eyes of his former boss. "Gibbs!...What the hell is going on?"

"You DARE to interrupt me, you worthless worm!" Kek thundered, anger flushing his face a deep dark black, as he turned towards the pitiful human that was gaping in disbelief at his brother. "I shall teach you a lesson you will never forget you pathetic little worm."

"CRUCIO!”

Searing agony erupted suddenly throughout his body, causing DiNozzo to scream in pain, as it felt like a thousand molten hot knives were being plunged repeatedly into his body over and over, the pain arching his back in a tight bow, spasms slamming his head repeatedly to the floor. Screaming over and over in utter pain.

"Yes...you will learn to never interrupt again."

"CRUCIO!”

Agony once again tore through his body, causing DiNozzo to scream, over and over, till his throat seized up from the torture, before erupting with a cascade of blood.

"You humans are so weak! Pathetic and powerless before us....your Gods!"

"CRUCIO!”

Agony....pure agony again swept his body, causing DiNozzo to scream. Pain...torturous pain.

"CRUCIO!”

Screaming....who was screaming? DiNozzo wondered fuzzily, before slowly realizing he was the one screaming.

"As your gods you will learn to obey or find your death!"

DiNozzo, coughed deeply, feeling more blood well up into his throat, "blah...blah...blah..." he thought crazily, "Why all the evil maniacal egomaniacs always had to go on and on making a whole production out of it had always puzzled him...it was like they were trying out for the part of the big bad in a really low budget movie. This guy was definitely a 'B' grade actor", he huffed silently, "and needed much better lines...yes...the whole evil overlord handbook definitely needed to be updated with a better soliloquy" his thoughts swimming mussily from the intense pain.

"CRUCIO!”

Heh watched in cruel delight as his brother tortured the pathetic worm, teaching it a lesson it would never forget, if the creature managed to live through it, he laughed in cold glee, pleasure humming through his body at the sound of it's pain...deep pleasure...pathetic worms. 

Delight and glee again erupted in Heh, as the little green-eyed worm withered on the floor in a cruel mock dance of agony for his brother's amusement. The sweet screams of the creature filling the air. 

Heh mused silently to himself, "Such a pathetic little green eyed worm." Green...green eyed...always laughing...a bright flash of a smile as he joked along side his teammates...green...a harsh flash of green light washing across the wall as he laid frozen unable to move...the ache of hearing a child's wail...a green eyed child ...the thud of a body falling to the floor...red hair...a loved one's cry so brutally cut off. Desolation.

What were these images and feelings...the looming presence that filled him with anger and hatred as it leaned over him, the absolute fear...love....he didn't love anything...love...he didn't love this worm. No...he was just a little worm...a thing to play with, not love. Love! What was love.

"CRUCIO!”

No...Heh denied the thought....no! No!

Silence, as the creature laid still at his brother's feet, before the screams erupted once more as his brother applied the pain curse to him once again.

"CRUCIO!”

Pain...intense pain he remembered the feeling of it. How it burned every single nerve in pure agony. Burning...why would he remember burning pain. He had never ever felt pain before...so how would he know?. What was the name of the curse? Crucio...the Cruciatus Curse, Heh mused silently, wondering again how and why he knew the name since he had never heard it before...it was an agonizing torture spell....one of the three unforgivables. 

Unforgivable.

No...they should not use this curse on the green eyes...no!

"Daddy!" 

"Talia...come back!" Ziva screamed in horror as she tried to grab her daughter as she wretched herself from her arms.

"Daddy!" Talia cried out again, as she ran over screaming, beating on the legs of the horrible man standing in front of her daddy. "Stop hurting my daddy!"

Slap!

Talia flew several feet before landing hard from the force of the blow, stunned, before wailing at the burning pain of the slap.

Wailing!

"CRUCIO!”

Wailing that turned to a scream as Kek turned the torture spell on the girl...her little body arching high from pure agony.  


  
"NO!"

  
Howled fiercely in denial, the word echoed and re-echoed around the rotunda as it burst from Heh, causing Kek and Nun to turn towards their brother with angry confusion glinting in their golden eyes.

  
"NO!"

  
Howled fiercely again, the word burst forth a second time from the throat of Heh as it turned into a scream of absolute fury and rage, a rage that grew and grew, raging at the very heavens in a fury so intense that it seemed to pierce the very air, reverberating in a storm of sound that was tortured by the very word itself. Hatred and love battled each other in that word. Defiance.

  
  
"NO!" 

  
Howled Gibbs a third time in utter fury.....


	5. Snarling Fury

Rotunda - Entrance 

Fury...absolute fury...filled the air with a ferocious snarling anger as the long drawn out howled no seemed to reverberate over and over into the very heart of everyone's deep inner terror and an ominous sound of a low threatening growl rose in the absolute silence. The man who had uttered that no seemed to swell with power and menace...a menace that grew as he slowly started to crouch down, his lip pulling back in a snarl of gleaming white teeth that grew ever sharper. Teeth sharp enough to hold and rip into his prey, his body tensing ever so tightly as if it wanted to immediately leap on his prey and tear them to shreds. His very skin and body shifted in a torturous sound of bones breaking...brutal snaps that were accompanied by horrible grinding and tearing noises.

The jaw bone snapped, and lengthen, as fangs grew, sharp horrifying fangs to tear apart his brothers, the neck and skull shifting as it elongated to give room. "No!" screamed Heh, in desperation, as a terrible crushing pain swept over him. He could feel his body slowly being pulverized between the shifting bones. Pain...terrible pain. "Stop! Please stop!" he cried out in terror as he felt death creeping throughout his body. "No! Please!" Heh screamed again in terror, "It hurts! It hurts! Please...please stop!" The screams slowly, ever so slowly, died down to an aching silence as the cruel gold glow faded, to be replaced by ice cold blue eyes that gleamed with rage from amidst thick silver grey fur. Cold glaring eyes that belonged to an enraged beast, a huge snarling wolf full of pure fury.

The wolf snarled as it began to stalk slowly towards its prey, wanting to rend and tear the man apart until he was only a bloody smear on the ground. It crouched low to the ground and snarled in challenge. Kek stood in stunned disbelief that some primitive creature had destroyed his brother...the scream of his death vibrating down the link announcing the final emptiness, the absence of a conscience that had existence since time itself had seem to come about, was gone forever. To never exist again. The utter silence adding a final absolute death knell to what once was a god. 

Fierce anger filled Kek that some worthless worm would not only dare, but succeed, to harm one of them. The utter absence of his brother caused a terrible fury and hatred to well up at the beast stalking towards him. How dare this creature believe it had the right to harm a superior being. 

Giving release to his utter fury and hatred, Kek blasted the lowly worm in a show of the strength and superiority of his power, as with a contemptuous wave of his hand, the beast was throw against the solid form of the elephant with a hard smack that caused a pained grunt to escape the snarling wolf before it dropped down to land with a thud on top of O'Neill, who was laying at the base of the pedestal in a pool of blood.

"OW...!" O'Neill winced hard at the impact, blinking dazed confused eyes, trying to focus on what had landed on him, before freezing as his eyesight cleared enough to see gleaming teeth. "Good doggie! Yes...very good doggie...no biting please!."

  
A low growl tore from Gibbs throat, causing O'Neill to freeze and hold his breath. Heart pounding. Feeling true relief as the wolf gathered itself and sprang high over his head, away from him, scrambling over the back of the elephant to leap onto Kek in a snarling twisting form of death that raged around the rotunda in a deadly battle of fury and hatred as they each tried to destroy the other.

Slamming hard into a column, Gibbs shook his head at the brief flare of pain before leaping over a Marine that was too slow to move out of the way with a warning snarl, only to be caught by another blast of power and flung into the Moose display case in the Hall of Mammals.

  
_______________________________

Hall of Mammals

  
Snarling, Gibbs clawed and heaved his way out from under the stuffed form of the moose that laid on it side from being knocked over, only to be showered with glass as one display case after another exploded with a wave of Kek's hand.

CRASH!

BOOM!

The sound of the exploding glass cases breaking hurt his ears as shards slashed through his fur, causing him to yelp in pain before ramming once again into Kek with his body to send them both crashing onto the rhino in the same display case, Gibbs just barely managing to twist his body to avoid being pierced by the horn .

"CRUCIO!”

Gibbs snarled at the burning pain, snapping at Kek, close to taking him down before Kek managed to use his power again to throw Gibbs far down the hall to slam into the lion display. The stuffed lion and wolf tumbled to the floor, almost knocking Gibbs out before he got his bearings again. The wolf snarled as he shook off the momentary dazed feeling and howled again in rage before charging down the hall to resume the battle in a mighty leap that caused them both to crash to the floor. Gibbs, a snarling mass of fury, tried to maul to death the man beneath him, fangs slashing deeps wounds across Kek's face before being tossed through the air once more.

"CRUCIO!”

Pain...fierce burning pain, even more intense than the last, swept through Gibbs once more, nerves burning from the agony, the pain igniting his anger even more as he snarled and lunged. Latching onto Kek's wrist with his fangs he managed to get a firm grip, fangs buried deep into the flesh, to crush the wrist bones between his jaws before he fiercely whipped his head, tearing the very limb from Kek's body and sending him crashing straight onto the horn of a wildebeest. 

Gibbs crouched down ready to finish Kek off when he disappeared from in front of him with a resounding...

CRACK! 

...disappearing into thin air. The only thing left behind to tell he had been there was a mangled arm and a pool of blood.

A howl of rage sprang from Gibbs muzzle at the cowardly escape of his prey, causing him to snarl and foam at the mouth before spotting another target for his fury. Nun, who was aiming a gun at him about to shoot. Gibbs snarled and leaped towards his enemy...straight into a bullet, a bullet that hit with tearing, searing pain. The pain did not stop him from finishing his leap, crashing into Nun they went down in a tangle of limbs. Snarling, Gibbs lunged forward, fangs gleaming, to grip Nuns tightly and with a quick twist of his head, ripped his throat out. The body of a snake hanging dead from his mouth.

Shaking the remaining glass shards from his fur, and with blood trailing down his leg, he slowly limped back down the hall to the rotunda, pausing at the door, he took in all the death and destruction of the ruined entrance of the Museum. Dead and wounded Marines and party guests laid strewn about on the ground amidst the rubble. The more able body slowly stirring to help the fallen.

Hearing the cocking of a gun, he turned and looked towards a young Marine, who had a weapon fully trained on him.

"HOLD!" O'Neill hoarsely ordered, "Stand down! Nobody fire on the wolf."  
  
Everyone in the hall looked O'Neill's way at this bizarre order, before turning their attention back towards the lethal looking wolf and clutched tighter to their weapons, holding their breath, as Gibbs just glared coldly at the Marine for several long seconds, before the man nervously gulped and lowered his gun.

Gibbs proceeded to slowly limp into the hall, easing towards O'Neill, before stopping in front of him to stare for a long moment before dropping the dead snake in his lap.

"Ohh...you play fetch!" O'Neill snarked sarcastically in response to getting dead snake dumped in his lap. "Good doggie!"

Gibbs growled deep in his throat at the sarcastic comment.

"Okay....okay! Good wolfie!" O'Neill replied to the growl. "Sheesh....critics!"

Raising a lip in a silent snarl, Gibbs gave a slight glare before limping slowly over towards where Ziva was clutching Talia in her arms...Tony's unconscious head resting in her lap. Stopping in front of her, he sat down on his haunches, resting in front of her as she stared intently at his blue eyes, holding still and waiting quietly until she nodded, finally seeing what she was looking for. She smiled.

Gibbs, raising his head back, gave a long howl of victory. 

  
_____________________________

  
O'Neill looked down at the dead snake in his lap for a moment, before picking it up with a grimace of distaste, and tossed it aside. "Yuck...nasty snake guts!"

"Sir!"

O'Neill looked up at the call, to see Colonel Carter and Lt. Colonel O'Neill running towards him, weapons drawn, scanning for any threats, taking in the destruction of the surroundings. All the dead and wounded. As even more personnel arrived to help.

"Sam, Jon...your late!" O'Neill said sarcastically, giving a wave of his hand. "The party is already over."

"Sorry sir!" Carter grimaced with a slight wince. "We couldn't get through the barrier that they erected, whatever technology they were using is far superior to what we currently have...even the Asgard tech couldn't penetrate through the shield."

"Looking rough there, old man!" 

"Jon...," O'Neill warned, looking at his younger self. "I could still post you to the Antarctic."

"Try it!" Jon O’Neill grinned. "It would be fun figuring out how to get back at you!"

"Uugh...you would!" O'Neill shook his head defeated, grimacing at the pounding headache that had started up and was becoming a nuisance. "Help this so called old man get more comfortable!"

Groaning, O'Neill almost fainted from the pain of his broken ribs, as both Sam and Jon slowly helped ease him to a better sitting position that didn't hurt so much, shifting his broken leg gently, until he was finally propped up resting with his back against the pedestal. Damn that had hurt. He really was getting too old for this shit.

"Jon...secure the premise and get a team over from Stargate Command to do a sweep of the whole Museum from top to bottom." O'Neill ordered, looking around at all the dead and wounded. "These snakes are even more dangerous than our usual garden variety. Even our old favourites Baal and Anubis didn't have access to technology like this and those bastards were extremely hard to defeat."

"Yes Sir!" Jon O’Neill snapped off a quick salute, before waving his team to head out into the Fossil Hall. "Johnson, secure the premise tight and call Stargate Command to send over some SG teams to search for snakes....nobody is allowed in or out but our personnel. Thompson conduct search and rescue of all wounded...we will deal with the dead as soon as time allows. Hustle people!"

"Wow...I can never get over how much he sounds like you when he's giving orders." Carter's blond head shaking with wonder, causing O'Neill to cast a sarcastic look her way, "I know...I know...he is you!"

"No...he's himself now!" O'Neill stated, suppressing a wince of pain as he shifted slightly, "He is..."

  
CRACK!

POP... POP... POP... POP... POP...!

  
O'Neill jerked around, barely suppressing a scream of pain as he jarred his broken ribs, only to see people dressed in long funny gowns and pointed witches hats suddenly appearing in their midsts, wooden sticks held in their hands that they proceeded to point at them.

"Nice getups...I know it's Halloween but the witches look is so last year!" O'Neill snarked, starring in disbelief at being surrounded by a bunch of people that were dressed in outfits right out of the Middle Ages.

  



	6. Wizards and Witches...Oh, My!

Rotunda Entrance - Witches Convention

"Well...what do you lot want?" O'Neill asked, still gazing around in disbelief, wincing in pain as he felt the bump on his head tentively, wondering if the concussion he had received was causing hallucinations. "The party is over and I'm all out of candy to give for the best witch's costume."

"Muggle! I am Auror Dickerson of the British Ministry of Magic." A large heavyset man dressed in scarlet red robes sneered, a look of disgust on his face as he looked down at a blood covered O'Neill sitting on the floor. "Where is Ambassador Shacklebolt?"

"Name's not Muggle! It's Major General Jonathan 'Jack' O'Neill of the United States Airforce." O'Neill stated in quiet authority. "That's spelled with two 'L's!. What can I do for you?"

"Quiet Muggle!....I will ask the questions here!"

"Well...all right then Dick." O'Neil raised an eyebrow in irritation before grandly gesturing him to continue right on with his question. "Go right ahead and ask."

"It is Auror Dickerson!"

"Yeah...that's what I said Dick." O'Neill snarked, having fun riling the asshole, as he found the guy's attitude beyond annoying. "What do you want?"

"Where is Ambassador Shacklebolt?" 

"Who?"

"Ambassador Shacklebolt!" 

"Well...I have absolutely no idea who that is. You might want to ask someone else as I didn't make the guest list for the party!" O'Neill shrugged, looking around in a slight daze for someone who might know, thinking someone should ask Harriman, he always knew everything that was going on...man his head hurt.

"Muggle! Answer the question before I make you!"

"You...and who's Army?" O'Neill smirked, always finding it funny to say in these situations, it was such a classic line. Hilarious! He would start laughing if he had enough energy to get out a chuckle.

"Muggle...Where is the Ambassador?"

"You keep calling me Muggle!” O'Neill, tensed slightly at the tone of the guy, before smirking. "Huh...I'm going to assume that was some sort of insult. You’re going to have to try harder since I have no clue what a muggle is and I also have an extremely thick skin."

"Listen here Muggle! You will answer my..."

A low growl interrupted the argument, as Gibbs stalked over with lethal grace to slowly sit down beside O'Neill, before raising his paw and smacking him on the back of the head, turning to look at him with an icy glare in his eyes that spoke of his irritation. 

'Ha...Ha...you've been Gibbs slapped!" DiNozzo weakly laughed, having regained consciousness sometime during the argument, amusement faintly gleaming in tired green eyes at O'Neill, as he huffed out again in painful gasps, "Or is it...pawed slapped...in this case? Either way...it's...better...not to piss off the...Boss!"

Gibs growled in warning, as he turned slightly, to glare behind him.

"So...so...sorry...boss! Shutting up!" DiNozzo shrugged with a slight wince at the look.

"Now see here! If you muggles do not answer the question immediately I will..." Auror Dickerson threatened angrily, only to freeze as he felt the cold metal of a knife resting against his throat. 

"You'll do what?" Jon O'Neill asked in a quiet voice, the tone implying extreme violence being applied if he didn't like the answer.  
  
"You...you..." Auror Dickerson squeaked out as he felt the knife dig into his skin. "You muggles will regret this!"

"Auror Dickerson!" A slender green eyed man with glasses sternly called, authority and power quietly evident in the calm even voice, as, having listened unnoticed for a while after appearing soundlessly into the center of the hall, quickly glanced around, noting the tense standoff between Wizards and Marines, and immediately took control of the rapidly deteriorating situation. "Please state the meaning of this behavior."

"The muggles are impeding our investigation into the location of Ambassador Shacklebolt, Law Minister Potter!"

"Well!" Potter looked around quietly assessing the situation once more. "Did you ask them nicely?"

"Why should we...they’re just muggles!"

"Well...those muggles seem to have you dead to rights, Auror Dickerson!" Potter stated, raising his eyebrow at the foolish man. "If anyone on your team tried anything at this point you would be dead in seconds as you have allowed them to get close enough to get a knife on you!"

"They’re muggles! They have no power to hurt us!"

"Just because a muggle has no magic is no reason to believe they are harmless or to be impolite for that matter, Auror Dickerson!" Potter noted with a hard look in his eyes. "Plus, just a minor note of warning, muggles have plenty of power. It just takes a very different form from magic. Now, to clear up..."

A ghostly white, translucent, figure of an otter suddenly appeared in front of Potter and leaped upon his shoulder, leaning in towards his ear to whisper, before turning it's head towards Auror Dickerson to stare at him for several long moments, before disappearing in a flash of light. 

"Well, Auror Dickerson!" Potter stated, humor gleaming in his green eyes. "It seems that Minister Granger does not appreciate your attitude and would like you to attend to her office immediately. She seemed to think that it was ....how did she put it...very dickish!"

"Sir!" Auror Dickerson, who was about to argue in angry protest, paled at the hard look sent his way and at the heavy swell of power that radiated off his boss, suddenly apparated, disappearing right out from under the knife that had been at his throat just moments before with a sharp crack.

"Shit! When did we land in Oz?" Jon O'Neill asked incredulously, startled by the sudden disappearance of the man he had just been holding. "Wizards...witches? Who will show up next? Dorothy?" 

"Yes?" A young auror startled, hair flaring pink, as her head jerked around to look over at the muggle in amazement. "How did you know my name?"

"Auror Baum!" Potter, shaking his head in slight amusement at the comment, looked at her sternly. "He was just referencing a muggle movie character that has your name. Now, please attend to the job first of taking care of the wounded and ask personal questions later in this regards if you are still curious."

"Yes sir!" Auror Baum flushed in embarrassment, hair darkening to a muted purple, as she glanced in apology at her boss. "Sorry sir!"

"No problem!" Potter smiled slightly at the young Auror. "Please give a bone and wound mending potion to Major General O'Neill immediately as he looks like he might faint any second now."

"O'Neill's don't faint!" O'Neill said, as he was just about to do that very act, protesting the very idea. "O'Neill's never faint."

"Just take the medicine, Jack!" Jon O'Neill ordered, after assessing Auror Baum for several minutes to make sure she wasn't about to poison him. Deciding to trust her he waved her over to where Jack sat leaning haphazardly against the pedestal. The wolf sitting beside O'Neill shifting slightly to give her room to kneel down briefly to help him swallow the potion.

"Now..." Potter stated, looking O'Neill over as he slowly recovered from his wounds. "I would like to apologize to you for the behavior displayed by Auror Dickerson."

"Okay!" O'Neill acknowledged, staring in wonder as his leg and ribs knitted back into place and the wounds that littered his body slowly disappeared. "Hey, Jon, this is almost like one of those Goa'uld healing devices. Oh...apology accepted by the way!."

"I am the Minister of Law for the British Ministry of Magic, Harry James Potter." Potter announced quietly, with a polite nod of his head. "Minister of Magic Granger asked me to personally come over to help facilitate the discovery of the whereabouts of Ambassador Shacklebolt. Who is a colleague and very good friend of hers, in fact, of both her and I. He had been attending the International Warlocks Convention that was being hosted this year at the Magical Congress of the United States of America, in New York, when he was asked to a Halloween party in Washington DC and who disappeared from our scrying mirror. We asked the American Ministry for permission to be allowed to hunt for the Ambassador with their assistance when we receive a Patronus stating they were being attacked. We then lost all contact and have not been able to discern his whereabouts or his status through any means since then. Magical or mundane."

"There's an American Ministry of Magic?" O'Neill asked in disbelief. "Really?"

"Yes...it is called the Magical Congress of the United States." Potter answered, faintly amused, by the look of disbelief on the faces around him. "Or in it's short form acronym of MACUSA. Auror Thompson here is a member of the American Law Enforcement of Magic."

"Why the hell don't I know about this?" O'Neill asked, with a heavy frown, wondering about the implications. As he had absolute authority on all things pertaining to the protection of the planet.

"No-maj...or muggles, as the British refer to non-magical mundanes and magical people do not normally associate under any but the most unusual circumstances as it would cause great harm to all things magical. We therefore imposed a strict law of secrecy. A law that is upheld vigorously except for certain individuals. Only individuals such as the No-maj President and various family members of any new blood magicals are allowed to know unless given an exemption. Very rarely is one granted." Auror Thompson stated firmly. "All other mundanes are obliviated of the memory of magic to maintain this secrecy."

"Ahh, no...fuck that!" O'Neill swore, shaking his head, in absolute denial. "You’re not touching my memory in any way, shape, or form. Absolutely not."  
  
"That is not for you to decide as you are a no-maj!" Auror Thompson stated arrogantly, not concerned in the least by the mundane's desires. "All mundanes with no need to know about magic are automatically obliviated for the protection of magicals."

"That's where you’re wrong!" O'Neill stated angrily. “You try to alter my memories and we will have a serious problem."

"That is no concern of mine, we will..."

A threatening growl rumbled from Gibbs throat, as he moved to stand in front of O'Neill, causing Auror Thompson to swing his wand around to point it at the lethal looking wolf, who just snarled and glared coldly. Unimpressed by the man, or the wooden stick, in front of him.

"Call off your dog!" Auror Thompson demanded, causing Gibbs to growl again in a deep threatening tone at being insulted by being called a dog, making O'Neill smirk at someone else pissing off the wolf by using the term. "Call it off now!"

"Stand down gentlemen!" President Teller ordered as he came up the stairs followed by the Secret Service agents who spread out to cover the area. "Jack! Relax! Nobody will be wiping your memory. I am stating that by order, as President of the US No-Maj and also as stated by order of the authority of President Quahog of the Magical US Congress."

"Oh...good!" O'Neill nodded in satisfaction, smirking at the look on Auror Thompson's face. "Thank you Mr. President!"

"No problem Jack!" President Teller smiled in amusement, deciding to ignore the large silver grey wolf standing in front of O'Neill for the moment, turned to look with an assessing eye at Law Minister Potter. He found it almost impossible to believe that the slender man with glasses in front of him was really the famous Harry Potter, who he had been told by President Quahog, had defeated the Dark Lord Voldemort that was terrorizing the whole of Europe when he was seventeen years of age. Just a teenager for heaven sakes.

  
"Now...this Ambassador of yours. Does anybody have a picture of him?" President Teller inquired with a nod to Potter. "Vice President Penn will be coming up the stairs in a moment and we can inquire from him if he was in attendance at the party."

"Yes." Potter, with a quick wave of his hand, conjured up a large moving image of a tall black man dressed in full traditional Nigerian robes and cap, who smiled and nodded regally at them. "This is Ambassador Kingsley Shacklebolt."

Gibbs, lip furling, snarled in fury... snapping at the image with fangs clashing...


	7. Enemy Revealed

Rotunda Entrance - Enemy Revealed  


  
Anger...A terrible, ferocious anger filled Gibbs, causing a deep threatening growl to erupt from his throat as he snarled at the image of the tall dark man floating in front of him. Snarling louder and louder, Gibbs snapped again and again as a feeling of pure hatred welled up at the man who had hurt his loved ones. 

Auror Thompson shouted as he cast a spell at the wolf.   
  


“STUPEFY!”

With a howl of pain, Gibbs slammed into the pedestal beside O'Neill with a loud thump.

Dazed for a brief second, Gibbs quickly shook off the effects of the stunning spell. To the disbelief of the Wizards he immediately scrambled back to his feet and lunged at the wooden stick wielded by the Auror. Snagging it in his jaws, he chomped down, snapping the stick in half before dropping it at the man's feet with a snarl. Turning his back on the man in contempt, he resumed his stance in front of O'Neill.

Several people including DiNozzo and O'Neil gave muffled snorts at the shocked and enraged look on Auror Thompson face as the wolf had quickly defeated him by destroying his weapon.

"You mangy mutt!" Auror Thompson shouted in anger. "You broke my wand."

"Not...mutt...wo...wolf...and Boss doesn't like...people...at...attacking him." DiNozzo stuttered slowly, a faint snicker in his voice as he shuddered from the pain of burning nerves, shifting to look around Auror Baum as she waved her wand over his body as she tried to assess the damage from the multiple crucios. "Does he...Zi..Ziva?"

"No! Gibbs does not put up with cowardly attacks!" Ziva said, giving Auror Thompson a threatening look as she adjusted a sleeping Talia in her arms. The potion that Auror Baum had given the little girl to help with the lingering effects of the Crucio curse caused her to fall into a deep slumber. "You would do well not to try again."

"I don't care what he is, a dog, a werewolf, or even a animagus!" Auror Thompson sneered. "I am going..."

"Werewolf...there's such a thing as real werewolves?" O'Neill asked in disbelief. "I figured that Gibbs here was just a plain old wolf, not some howling at the moon, ferocious, man eating werewolf. He hasn't ripped all our throats out in an uncontrollable rage, at least not yet, anyway!." 

"He's most likely an animagus. Though, if he is, he should have turned back already unless he's somehow stuck in that form temporarily." Potter said. "Some wizards have the ability to change into the form of an animal at will. It takes many years and lots of training to achieve such an advanced form of transfiguration."

O'Neill raised an eyebrow. "You know, if I hadn't seen Gibbs turn into a wolf in front of my eyes I wouldn't believe you."

Auror Thompson glared at Gibbs and snapped, "I'll have him arrested for attacking an Auror and for being an unregistered animagus as there is no Gibbs on the current updated registration list as posted yesterday!" 

"I wouldn't try that!" Fornell said in amusement, as he staggered slowly over towards them, just barely managing to stay upright. "Arresting Gibbs never ends well for anyone. Between him and DiNozzo, it's been tried way too many times and nobody ever succeeds. Plus, you attacked the wolf first, and I can't believe I am saying this because really, a wolf? A real bloody wolf?"

"And who might you be, Sir?" Potter asked politely, as he assessed the older man that came to stand before him.

"Tobias Fornell, Ex-FBI Agent, and general law enforcement consultant at you service. Oh, and a friend of fur face over there!" Fornell said, laughing at the cold glare and snarl from Gibbs. "The wolf is actually Supervisory Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. The second 'B' is for bastard, by the way. He's the lead investigator of NCIS. That means he's a law officer himself, a Federal Law Officer, despite his current furry form. You really don't want to get on his bad side. He has a habit of always coming out ahead in these kinds of situations. Chalk it up as a learning experience, Auror Thompson, and just leave it alone."

"I don't care, I will..."

"Enough!" Potter stated with a sharp tone to his voice. "I would like to know why the wolf, Agent Gibbs, that is, reacted so strongly to the image of Ambassador Shacklebolt!."

"Unfortunately, your Ambassador is responsible for all the death and destruction that you see around you," O'Neill responded, rubbing a weary hand over his face. "We'd likely all be dead if Agent Gibbs didn't succeed in stopping the attackers."

"NO!" Potter startled angrily, in absolute denial, shaking his head. "Kingsley would never murder anyone! He's an honorable upstanding man. At one point he was the Head of the British Auror Department and the Minister of Magic for over twenty years!"

"I'm sorry." O'Neill said with some sympathy, having lost countless friends himself to the evil bastards. "He no longer is that man. He's been taken over by a snake...a Goa'uld to be exact. They're a parasitic species that resemble finned snakes. They burrow deep into back of the neck and attach themselves to the brain stem and spinal cord to control their hosts. They suppress the person to the point that the subconscious dies and the only thing left of the person is an evil snake who believes that he's a god with the right to rule over all mankind." 

"Sir!, ...and Mr. President, Sir!" Carter announced, appearing suddenly in a bright flash of white light, startling the Wizards. "I went back up to the Odyssey to scan for snakes, and right now it looks like we're clear."

"Well, that's both good and bad, Carter!" O'Neill shook his head, glad they didn't have to worry about an immediate attack but wondering where the one in the Ambassador had escaped to. "We have one that looks like it was killed when Gibbs transformed and another that was taken care of by the wolf ripping it to pieces with his fangs. So...that leaves one or more at large."

"Yes Sir!" Carter acknowledged. "I tried to pull the footage from the Museum cameras but unfortunately all the electronics are fried except for the backup lights. Right now we can't double check to see who might have been taken over by another snake besides Ambassador Shacklebolt."

"Magic and muggle technology generally doesn't work well together." Auror Thompson said stiffly in answer. "That is most likely the reason the electronics are destroyed."

"There's no such thing as magic!" Carter scoffed, shaking her head at the very thought. "It has to be some advanced form of technology!"

"Carter, argue the point later!"

"Sorry sir!"

"A snake?" Potter stared at O'Neill blankly. "A bloody snake?"

"Yes!" O'Neill confirmed, frowning slightly as Potter continued to mumble under his breath about snakes. "As I already briefly mentioned, the Goa'uld are a race of snakes that invaded our world thousand of years ago and masqueraded as gods. They were worshipped throughout the Universe by billions of subjugated people who were slaves and hosts until we managed to defeat them. We mistakenly believed that we had destroyed them all."

"I don't believe it!" Vice President Penn shouted in derision as he came up the stairs to hear the tail end of O'Neill's statement . "First it was bugs and now it's snakes. You need to retire, O'Neill."

"Felix!" President Teller warned, as he could see that O'Neill was ready to punch Penn. Even if he deserved it, he still couldn't let it happen. "The Goa'uld are real. You just haven't been read into the whole thing because it was classified to the highest level. Only the President and the Oversight Committee had the clearance besides the Stargate Command structure."

"Those snakes are real bastards to deal with!" Jon O'Neill said with a grimace, not looking forward to the coming fight with the devious parasites. "The damned things are ruthless and sneaky."

"Carter, remind me to have a few words with Daniel about this!" O'Neill grimaced, deciding to ignore Penn for now. The windbag could huff all he wanted. "I thought they had scanned all the Egyptian artifacts before they released them to the Museum on loan."

"Actually Sir, Daniel was on PX115 at the time and all scanning was done at another location."

"Please don't tell me it was Area 51!"

"Yes, Sir!" Carter sighed. "It was."

"I said not to tell me that!"

"Sorry, Sir!"

"I'll need to see your memory, if you don't mind", Potter said, looking at O'Neill for confirmation. "It's a simple spell to withdraw a copy of the event witnessed so it can be viewed in a penseive. It will not harm you or disturb your original memory."

"I'm not fond of anyone or anything messing with my head!" O'Neill grimaced, remembering the Ancients memory device that downloaded the whole database archive into his head. Not fun. "I really don’t like the idea."

"I promise to be careful.” Potter nodded seriously, understanding that O'Neill would be putting a lot of trust in a man whom he just met. "You'll barely notice a thing."

"Jack, let Law Minister Potter copy the memory!" President Teller ordered, knowing O'Neill would most likely still refuse otherwise. "He won't hurt you."

"Okay!" O'Neill said, hesitating, not really wanting to allow this. He threw a quick glance at Jon, who gave a slight nod that he would stand guard. "Let's do this."

"Kreature!" Potter called out loud to the empty air. "Kreature!"

"You called, Master?" A tiny wizened figure with large flapping ears appeared with a sharp crack. 

"Yes. I need my penseive."

"Here, Master!" Kreature, snapping his fingers, making the penseive bowl appear suddenly in his old gnarled hands and handed it over to Potter.

"Thank you Kreature!" Potter nodded. "You may go!"

"Yes Master!" Kreature quickly popped away with another sharp crack.

"What exactly was that?" President Teller asked in surprise. 

"My house-elf!" Potter said in amusement. "They're magical creatures that help Wizards and Witches take care of their homes and magical possessions."

"Huh!" O'Neill grunted, not really knowing what to say about the funny little fellow, feeling like he had somehow ended up in the twilight zone.

"Now, just think as clearly as possible about what occurred this evening and I will put my wand to your temple to pull out a copy of the memory."

"Right," O'Neill raised an eyebrow in doubt about the whole thing. "Just think about it?"

"Yes."

"Okay." O'Neil shrugged, before casting his mind back over the horrible events of the last few hours. He concentrated on getting the details correct as he felt a faint tug at his temple. Faint wisps of memory slowly collected around the tip of Potter's wand.

As the last of the memories were copied, Potter pulled his wand away and then dropped the wisps into the penseive that he had set on top of the Information Desk. He gave them a stir before gesturing for everyone in the small group around O'Neill to gather around. 

"Now, all you have to do to see the memories is to stick your head in the penseive and it will draw you into the memory itself." Potter said before dipping his head into the large stone bowl. He disappeared with a soft pop as the memories continued to swirl around in bright flashes of colour.

"Wow...this isn't weird at all!" Jon O'Neill muttered sarcastically eyeing everyone sideways before quickly dipping his own head in the bowl and disappeared himself with a pop...leaving the rest to grimace at each other before doing the same.

Landing in the memory caused some of them to recoil in shock at seeing themselves running in fear as display cases exploded in a rain of glass. It was confusing to focus on minor details, especially as the wolf popped into being beside O'Neill. Shaking his fur at the sensation of being swallowed into a bowl, Gibbs growled as he glanced around at the devastation being wrought by Kek and Nun. He snarled at his own form as it came walking down the Fossil Hall into the entrance rotunda, eyes flickering between gold and ice blue as you could see him fighting the control of Heh, struggling to regain himself. Watching Kek torture Tony with the Crucio spell and then little Tali added to his anger, wanting to attack him and rip him apart even though he knew it was just a memory. 

Potter, himself, gave a small gasp of horror as he forced himself to stand still and watch someone he admired turn into a cold murdering creature. There was nothing in the glowing gold eyes but cruel delight. No kindness left to be seen at all. He was gone, as though he never existed. All that was left of Kingsley Shacklebolt was an alien using his form to commit atrocities, demanding to be worshipped and obeyed as a god. 

Watching the transformation of Gibbs into the form of an enraged wolf was equally painful as the howled 'NO' echoed throughout the memory as well as the subsequent raging battle. A battle that ended with one snake escaping and the other ripped to shreds. The image of a wolf howling in victory was the last thing they witnessed as they were suddenly forced out of the bowl.

Dazed they looked around, stunned by the transition from reliving the memory to reality as they stood once more in the entrance hall. A hall littered with shredded party decorations and people that were just starting to slowly move as they tried to recovered from the horror that the Halloween celebration had turned into. A true All Hallow's Eve to remember the dead. 

"Snakes!" Potter sighed in disbelief, as he looked down at the mangled body on the ground, before closing his eyes at the vagarity of fate. "Why is it always snakes?"


	8. Grieving a Friend

Rotunda Entrance - Grieving a Friend

"Snakes!" 

"Yup!" O'Neill agreed, grimacing in disgust as he looked at the mangled body. "At least this one is dead."

"Jack!" President Teller, with a sympathic nod to Potter for his loss as he stood in pained silence after having witnessed the atrocities, waved O'Neill over to were he had been having a quiet discussion with the Secret Service and several Aurors. "I want you to carry on here with locating any more Goa'uld. I, and the Vice President, have decided to go back to the White House to get out of the way so you can proceed with the investigation and also so that the Museum can be repaired before morning. The American Aurors, under Auror Thompson's direction, are going to fix the Museum with magic so that nobody will know anything happened. We can't afford to let this get out to the general public. Unfortunately, we will have to figure out a story about all the dead that will make sense. I hate having to lie to the public...but with magic and aliens being kept secret there is not much we can do but cover up the details. To do otherwise would just create mass panic and chaos."

"Yes Sir!" O'Neill acknowledged, it was pretty much the only reasonable thing they could do. "I'll have Dr. Jackson find out as much as possible about who we are dealing with."

"Minister Potter!" President Teller called, as he and his entourage headed out the door to the waiting limousine. "It was nice to meet you even under the horrible circumstances and I want to extend an invitation to the White House when time permits."

"Yes...thank you President Teller." Potter nodded politely, a solemn note underlying his tone as he agreed. "I look forward to the visit."

"Gentlemen!" President Teller nodded one last time as he and the Vice President walked out the door.

"Major General O'Neill...."

"Please!" O"Neill held up a hand. "Call me Jack or O'Neill. You saying my formal title all the time will become a long drawn out process that will just waste a lot of time."

"If you think that is appropriate." Potter hesitated, before nodding acceptance. "In return you may call me either Potter or Harry."

"Thank you, Harry!"

"I will need to inform Minister of Magic Granger about Ambassador Shacklebolt." Potter noted quietly. "I had intended to go back personally to inform her as she will be truly devastated by the news and need someone to be with her, however, I have decided to send a patronus instead as I believe that I would be of better use here. I would like to stay and help in anyway that I can. If that is agreeable to you?"

"Yes." O'Neill nodded with a serious look. "You would be a great source of knowledge about the Ambassador. The Goa'uld will have access to all of his memories and having someone who knew him will be trully helpful."

"Kingsley...Kingsley was a good friend." Potter said, closing his eyes for a moment as grief overwhelmed him. "I have know him for over 25 years....we worked closely together over the years to reorganize the structure of the British magical government after years of mismanagement and corruption. He was truly a great person...he helped save my life many times during my school years as we had to deal with a Dark Lord that wanted to wipe out all muggle-born magicals and muggles. He had a particular hatred for me because of a prophecy that said I would be the one to defeat him."

"A prophecy?" Jon O'Neill asked incredulously. "Those are real?"

"Yes, unfortunately!" Potter grimaced, glancing with a slight smile towards the younger O'Neill. "I really dislike prophecies as one was proclaimed just before I was born. It stated that the one with the power to defeat the Dark Lord would be born as the seventh month dies. This lead to Voldemort attacking my family in an effort to stop it from becoming true. I was only one year old when my parents were murder on a Halloween eve much like tonight!"

"Sorry to hear about your parents!" O'Neill grimaced in sympathy.

"Thank you...but it was a long time ago and I never really got to know them."

"Still...you have my sympathies."

"Well...give me a moment to send my patronus off to Minister Granger." Potter said softly, then with a faint nod of determination added, "Then, even though it is something I don't like to talk about usually, I will tell you the story of Voldemort and his Death-eaters that will help you understand how devastating the lost of Kingsley Shacklebolt really is to the magical people of Britain."

"Okay!" O'Neill said quietly. "Take your time!"

"Thank you."

Potter, closing his eyes for a brief moment, gave a quick slash of his wand in the air as he called out.

  
"EXPECTO PETRONUM!”

A blinding flash of brilliant white erupted from his wand and a fully-form shape of a translucent silvery-white stag came bursting forth in a mighty leap and bound, stopping to momentarily shake it's antlered head, before galloping around the entrance. The stag was truly breathtaking in it's majestic beauty stunning everyone to silence as they looked at it in awe.

"Wow!" Jon O'Neill softly whispered in wonder at the stag as it pranced around the entrance. "I've never seen anything so amazing."

"Hermione!" Potter waited, until the stag stopped and looked him in the eye, he then proceeded to relay in a painful whisper the information about Kingsley to the glimmering shape that slowly bowed it's head in sorrow before him. "I regret I will not be there to comfort you but the creature who has overtaken Shacklebolt must be stopped at any cost. I know you understand this but I still wish it was different. I am sorry to send such news!"

Stepping forward, the stag briefly nuzzled Potter in comfort at the end of the message, before turning away to leave, when it suddenly stopped still having spied the wolf sitting quietly beside O'Neill and stood like a statue for several long seconds just looking, before it walked slowly towards Gibbs. Lowering it's antlered head it gently touch his silver grey muzzle for a brief moment before straightening up quickly and with a sudden swift turn of it's form galloped away in a flash of light.

  
Gibbs, bewildered at the onslaught of painful emotions that was suddenly overwhelming him as the stag left, let out a mournful howl. 

Mourning for something forever lost.

  
  
_________________________

Potter, a little unsettled at the behavior of his patronus, shook his head slightly at the unusual actions of the corporal stag. He looked hard at the wolf trying to figure out why it had briefly greeted him...he didn't know this Gibbs! He had never been to America before and would have remembered meeting him. Huh...a minor puzzle to be worked out one day he was sure.

"That stag was truly awe inspiring!" O'Neill said in amazement to Potter. "What was it?"

"It's called a Patronus Charm!" Potter smiled. "It can be used to send messages as the spell is a charm that's a projection of your thoughts. It was originally created as protection, though, in that you projected all your positive happy thoughts and feelings into the spell to create a protective guardian that would take the form of an animal that was a part of your inner most being and use that to fight off dementors. Dementors are horrifying grayish decaying corpse like beings that wrap themselves in black cloth who are able to suck all the happiness from you to the point of driving you insane and can even suck your soul out. Truly foul creatures! They were used to guard the wizard prison Azkaban before Kingsley Shacklebolt banned their use during his time as Minister of Magic and confined them away from people."

"Uugh!" O'Neill grimaced in distaste, thinking they sounded way too much like the Wraith. "They sound horrible!"

"Yes, they truly are and never should have been used in the manner they were." Potter frowned heavily. "The magical world has it's good and bad aspects. That is a prime example of the bad."

  
"REPARO!”  
  


Moving aside slightly as marble and stone chips immediately began to rise into the air at the shouted spell, Potter paused in his explanation of magical spells to the fascinated non-magicals, to watch as the American Aurors worked fast shouting spell after spell to repair all the damaged displays throughout the Museum, glass cases sparkly like new, the columns that had been pulverized by Shacklebolt's "Reducto" spell slowly recombined to form pristine new structures that looked exactly like the originals as all the dust and blood marring the floors vanished.

  
“SCOURGIFY!”  
  


Gapping in disbelief, Carter just watched stunned trying to figure out what technology they were using because no way would those wooden sticks they were waving around in complicated patterns be able to conduct anything close to the amount of energy needed to fix those objects, the law of physics just didn't work that way.   
  
  
“OBLIVIATE!”

"Sir!" Auror Thompson, opening his leather colonial cut trench coat slightly to remove a scrying mirror that was buzzing, called to Potter. "President Quahog would like to speak with you for a moment."

Walking swiftly over, Potter looked into the scrying mirror to see a portly looking man in a dark somber colour quarter suit robe, who immediately nodded a greeting to him. "Law Minister Potter, I would like to invite you and your party to come to the Magical American Congress to discuss what has occurred this All Hallow's Eve."

"Yes , Mr. President!" Potter nodded, quickly glancing around to see how the state of repairs were going. "Auror Thompson and his team are doing an excellent job on fixing up the Museum. The decision of a cover story still needs to be settled and also who we need to exempt from the mandatory obliviation. We are going to need their experience and knowledge of the enemy."

"I will let you and Auror Thompson make that decision as you both are on site and can better understand what is needed." President Quahog stated, a worried look in his dark brown eyes. "The situation is quite serious as the magical exposure threat level measurer in the Congress's central foyer just went to High Alert, level three code blue!"

"Yes, Sir!" Potter acknowledged, a hard look in his eyes. "Auror Thompson and I will finish up here as fast as possible. We will be there soon, Mr. President."

"Sir!" Auror Thompson said quietly, putting the scrying mirror back securely in his coat. "All repairs are finished and memories copied from the witnesses of the tragic events and all non magicals have been obliviated except for the current personnel in this room."

"Excellent!" Potter nodded in satisfaction. "What about the family with the little girl?"

"Unfortunately, Auror Baum has had to take the DiNozzo family to headquarters because of extensive Crucio spell damage." Auror Thompson stated. "They are going to need expert healers to overcome the effects."

"Damn!" Potter sighed, knowing what could be the ultimate outcome from that spell. "Let's hope that they recover fully."

"To ensure the Secrecy Act is fully complied with Auror Tanner has suggested that we use a robbery attempt gone wrong to explain the deaths of some of the guests and the Museum Guards." Auror Thompson continued efficiently. "The famous Hope Diamond is on permanent display here and would be a tempting target for greedy people and would be a believable scenario."

"Excellent idea!" Potter nodded in approval. "That would work quite well as we can conjure dead robbers out of some garbage for the local No-maj police to handle in their investigation."

"Not a bad idea for keeping it all under wraps!" O'Neill quietly stated, having overheard the conversation. "You do have one small problem, though."

"What problem?" Auror Thompson asked, frowning slightly in irritation, not really liking having to work with non magicals.

"Him!" O'Neill pointed at the silver gray wolf that was glaring at them, lip raised showing his fangs in a snarl. "What are you going to do with him?"

"Huh!" Potter, surprised that he had forgotten about Gibbs, raised an eyebrow in thought before taking his wand out to cast at the wolf, pausing as a low warning growl sounded. "Sorry...I am only going to cast a diagnostic spell to see how to turn you back into your human form."

  
“SPECIALIS REVELIO!”

  
A golden glow encased Gibbs form for a brief moment before disappearing and a piece of parchment popped with a flash into existence to flutter slowly to the ground in front of his paws.

  
"ACCIO!”

  
Potter caught the parchment out of the air as it flew towards him and scanned it quickly, only to frown in deep puzzlement, not understanding the death notice rune in black as he was obviously alive and standing right before him. The dark residue of it indicated it was decades ago. An extremely powerful spell of the blackest magic was used against him at some point in his life, but no indication came up in the series of runes that littered the paper, of what type of spell. The red runes also indicated that he was a animagus not a werewolf. The last series of blue runes were the snake residue and made it clear that he was going to be stuck in this form for quite awhile because of the alien blood interfering...if not forever if they couldn't find the right spell needed to force him back.

"Unfortunately..." Potter grimaced, looking at the wolf as it cocked it's head at him. "You're going to be stuck in that form for awhile."

Gibbs growled...not liking that idea at all.

"Well, what are we going to do?" Fornell wondered aloud as he had been following the conversation being discussed, it was going to cause big problems because Gibbs was well know throughout Washington DC, although a lot of his enemies would be overjoyed that he was out of commission at NCIS. "He is on a major crimes team that won't rest if he disappears. They would hunt to the ends of the earth."

"Obliviate him and take him to the dog pound?" Auror Thompson joked slightly, in a low mutter, as he was still pissed about his wand being destroyed.

Gibbs growled at the threat.

"He has a lot of information stuck in his head about the current snakes!" O'Neill shrugged, not sure exactly what to do with the wolf but figured that they would end up taking him with them. "I'll take responsibility for him."

Gibbs growled again not liking the situation at all but having no current solution to fix it. 

"Okay...so we take him with us when we apparate to the Magical Congress building in New York, NY." Potter ordered with a slight frown. "They can figure out the weird reading on this Revelio parchment and hopefully he can get back to normal."  
  
"Carter, head back up to the Odyssey with Mitchell and Vala, they need time to recover from the potions that Auror Baum gave them." O'Neill order with a frown, trying to think of all they had to do. "Send all the SG personnel back to the mountain, along with any dead Marines, we will have to notify their loved ones that they were in a training accident. I hate having to lie to the families like that but unfortunately there's not much we can do about it. Also, get Daniel back from whatever planet he's digging around in the dirt on and have him look up any information about the Goa'uld Kek and the rest of those snake faced bastards."

"Yes, Sir...I'll head off right now." Carter nodded swiftly, before heading over to where Mitchell and Vala were drugged on healing potions. "Let's go...you guys are in for some downtime."

"Oh, Goody!" Vala said as she popped to her feet, dragging a dazed and confused Mitchell behind her as all three disappeared in a flash of light.

"Jon and I, along with Gibbs here, will be going with you folks!" O'Neill stated firmly, a no argument tone in his voice, looking at Potter and Auror Thompson with a raised eyebrow, before looking over at Fornell. "Fornell, since the NCIS team knows you I think you should head off any questions until we have time to figure out if Gibbs can be returned to normal. So I'm going to have you authorized by the President to handle things between the two groups as a consultant of Homeworld Command out of the Pentagon."

"Okay!" Fornell nodded, thinking how he could present it to Gibbs team. They were always wildcards with their skirting the edge since Gibbs was a loose cannon half the time and McGee would try to hack his location if they thought anything was off. Explaining to NCIS Director Vance would also be a total pain. Unless,...he explained that Gibbs totally pissed off the President by telling him to get the hell out of the building...yaah that might work...and the President threatened to send him to the Antarctic.

Yaah! People would believe it because it was true...Gibbs telling the President to get the fuck out of his crime scene would become an epic legend.

Turning to head over to talk to O'Neill about getting the President to play along, Fornell spotted Gibbs gold NCIS badge and ID lying amidst his clothing that was ripped from his body during the transformation, and acting quickly, he leaned over to snag it before snickering to himself. A snicker that turned into a chuckle at the opportunity.

"Auror Thompson!" Fornell gestured with a small wave, gesturing him over. "I was wondering if you would do me a small favor?"

"What is it you would like?" Auror Thompson tilted his head in suspicion at the smirk he spotted on Fornell's face. 

"I was wondering if you could change this ID and gold badge into a nice dog collar that reads "Warning...Gibbs Dog! Will attack!." Fornell smirked at the Auror. "Make it so he can't take it off right away. Then make it change to show his real ID every once in awhile."

"Wow!" Auror Thompson gave a tiny smile. Game for the prank!

Waving a fellow Auror over so that he could borrow their wand, he quickly transfigurated the ID placard and badge into the requested dog collar which then he handed it to Fornell with a shake of his head. Waving at his team to wrap it up he apperated with a faint chuckle lingering in the air.

"O'Neill!" Fornell called out, frowning. "I was wondering if you could get the President to act a bit pissed off at Gibbs for throwing him out of the party last night? It would sell the whole being given a punishment assignment and lessen the odds of anyone looking for Gibbs right away."

"Sure, I don't see a real problem...plus just give Vice President Penn a small chance and he'll do it all on his own anyway." O'Neill said sarcastically, shaking his head in slight disgust. "The man will complain about absolutely anything!"

"Oh!" Fornell said, with a snap of his fingers. "I almost forgot. This is Gibbs ID and badge that he should wear as a collar to make him look legal so nobody tries to take him to the dog pound by accident."

"Uhuh!" O'Neill, giving the collar a good once over before sharing a smirk with Jon, turned to look at Fornell with a sardonic eyebrow raised. "I'll just say one thing Fornell...if I get bitten I know a planet or two that makes the Antarctic look warm and cosy!"

Fornell just nodded his head as he walked away, throwing Gibbs keys to his Challenger in the air and then catching them, hoping he got a chance to see the results in a penseive eventually.

O'Neill shook his head as he watched Fornell walk away laughing his ass off, before turning to Jon who backed away with raised hands, not wanting anything to do with it. His younger self was a total wuss sometimes. How to get a collar on a wolf. Should be easy right. Who was he kidding, he was going to get mauled to death. Be smart...ah...magic! Seeing a young Auror transfiguring garbage into masked robbers over by the information center, O'Neill casually strolled over and leaned on the desk.

"Excuse me!" O'Neill asked the young Auror. "I was wondering if you could help me with a minor problem. Oh, what's your name by the way?"

"I'm Auror Webber, Sir." 

"Nice meeting you!" O'Neill smiled slightly at the young Auror. "I was wondering if there was a spell that would help me put the collar back on my dog. He's being a bit ornery about it."

"Yes, sir!" Auror Webber beamed, happy to help. "I will just float it over and before he knows it the collar will be on. Easy peasy!"

  
“WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!”

Gibbs growled.


	9. Coffee Break

"INCARCAROUS!"

  
Gibbs, snarling fiercely, growled as he was suddenly bound in heavy rope, snapping, struggling to move as he tried to lunge again at O'Neill, who, a little winded from moving so quick to hide behind the pedestal in an effort to not get bit, just smirked. Auror Webber, pale and hyperventilating, just stood cluching her wand, having barely managed to get the second spell out in time.

"Fornell thought you should have a collar so that you are legal." O'Neill told the snarling wolf, totally okay with throwing Fornell under the bus. "He didn't want to see his best friend taken to the pound."

Gibbs snarled again as he slowly calmed down... plotting ...pranks he can do!

"Hey, it looks nice!"

"GROWL!"

"You remind me of my Godfather, O'Neill!" Potter laughed, shaking his head in fond remembrance. "He was always willing to play pranks and tempt the fates."

"He sounds like my kind of guy!" O'Neill laughed, a little breathless still, adrenaline pumping...man...he really needed to realize he wasn't as young as he use to be. The damn wolf almost got his fangs in his ass! "Damn It! You ripped my pants!"

"REPARO!"

"Yes! You definitely remind me of Serious Black!"

"Serious?" O'Neill asked, as he nodded in thanks to Potter for the repair job.

"Yes...Serious Black. Marauder Extraordinaire. A serious name but never serious in personality or life." Potter laughed at the memories filling his head. "He and one of his best friends, Lupin, a werewolf by the way, were always pranking one another when I came to visit."

"Marauder?" O'Neill asked again, wanting to learn more as he heard the sad fondness in Potter's voice.

  
"Yes...Serious Black, Remus Lupin and my father, James Potter, were best friends when they went to school and started up a prank group they called The Marauders!" Potter smiled, he didn't usually like talking about the past, but found it easy to relate to both Jack and Jon, they reminded him of the Weasley twins in a way as well as his godfather. They both had that easy humor, especially in the the worst circumstances, as a way to help people cope. "Pranksters...although most of what they did was harmless jokes they did take a few of their pranks too far a couple of times!"

"You'll have to tell us more later!" O'Neill grinned, before straightening up, ready to get back to the business at hand. "However, we should head over to that...magic place...to figure out what to do about the snake-head! Who knows what damage he might already have done."

"True!" Potter gave a grim nod. "A megalomaniac alien snake who believes he's a god, with the ability to do magic, especially with the skill level that Shacklebolt managed to achieved, is definitely bad news. He will be worshipped by all the dark magic users as the next Dark Lord if we don't manage to stop him before he gains true power."

"Fun!" O"Neill snarked, sarcasm heavy in his voice, as he grimaced. That sounded like a horrible nightmare, the regular snakes were bad enough, that the idea of one with magic caused ice cold shivers to go down his spine. 

"Ready?"

"Yeah...let's go!" O'Neill nodded, glancing over at Jon to see the same grim look on his face. "How exactly are we getting there?"

"I'll apparate with you and Gibbs." Potter stated, moving over to grab O'Neill's arm and the wolf's collar. "Auror Webber will take Jon with her."

"Hold on!"

  
CRACK!

  
______________________________

  
Park - Apparating Site

POP! 

  
"Uugh!" O'Neill bent over, nauseated, the feeling of being forced down a tube as tiny as a straw making him want to throw up...god that was truly an awful way to travel. Gibbs just shook his fur out and nonchalantly sat down on his haunches to stare in amusement as Jack continued to gasp heavily. "Horrible! I never want to do that again!"

"Most people react that way the first time!" Potter chuckled, having had the same reaction himself when he was younger. "You get use to it."

"No...I don't think I will!" O'Neill shook his head in denial. "I prefer the Asgard method thank you very much!"

"Asgard method?" Potter asked hesitantly. "Is that how Carter and the rest of your teammates arrived at the Museum. I didn't know that non magicals had developed the technology to apparate."

"It's Asgardian!" O'Neill snorted, amused. "Us humans are getting there but we didn't create the technology, it was given to us by little grey Roswell looking aliens as a present."

"Really!" Potter looked at O'Neill wide eyed, having managed once to sneak a peak at a documentary on the telly at the Dursley's. "Like in Roswell, New Mexico aliens! I thought they were a hoax!"

"Nope...real!"

"Wow!"

"They had been our greatest allies at one point." O'Neill stated, then shook his head sadly. "Unfortunately the whole race recently died out."

"Oh...I'm sorry to hear that." Potter with a sad sigh. "I would have loved to meet them."

HONK! HONK!  
  


"Man! What a busy street!" O'Neill looked around amazed at how absolutely crowded the park and Broadway street were even at night where they had suddenly appeared. "How come nobody saw us arrive? Someone should have noticed us!"

"There are several permanent spells tied to this area of the park...both the Repelo Muggletum and the Muffliato." Potter stated with a shrug. "Non magicals can't see or hear anyone that apparates into this small section and the shrubs help kept the spot secluded."

  
POP!

"Uugh!" Jon O'Neill said, falling to his knees onto the grass, heaving and puking into a bush from the disagreeable sensation of traveling by magic, as Auror Webber hid a small smile behind a quickly raised hand. "That was horrible!"

"That's what I said!" O'Neill agreed with his younger self. "Not a nice way to travel."

"No...definitely not nice!" Jon O'Neill groaned rolling on the ground, while Gibbs just shook his furry head at all the drama, when he spied a squirrel. He almost gave chase, feeling an urge to go after the small animal, when he spotted a Starbucks across the street. 

  
________________________

Starbucks

  
With a howl of joy he dashed through the squealing sound of tires and loud cursing towards the door of the shop, just managing to squeeze in as a customer left and lunged up to set his paws on the counter to growl...coffee...he wanted coffee. Now!

Coffee...he growled.

About to growl again at the stupid barista for not getting him a coffee immediately, Gibbs looked over as O'Neill came slamming into Starbucks swearing, wildly looking around for him. Gibbs growled at him...coffee.

"What the hell!"

Gibbs growled and tilted his head at the coffee.

"Coffee!" O'Neill said in disbelief. "You want a coffee!"

Coffee! Gibbs almost wagged his tail but that would be undignified, instead he just held himself absolutely still and waited, looking impatiently at O'Neill, to get him his damn coffee. 

"Umm...the place is closing." The barista said hesitantly as he stared at the wolf. "It's almost midnight!"

Gibbs growled...coffee now!

"Fine! Just give us the remainder that's in the pot there!" O'Neill shook his head, rolling his eyes at the impatient wolf. "It will make him happy! Put it in a large container please."

"Alright!" The barista shrugging, turned to pour the coffee into a soup bowl, thinking whatever, his shift was over anyway. "Here!!”

  
“That's $20 dollars please!"

  
"$20 bucks!!"


	10. Magical New York

  
Woolworth Building - 233 Broadway

  
"Gr...rowl!"

"I see you're happy!" O'Neill muttered to Gibbs, with a slight shake of his head at the contented sounds, as the wolf slowly finished lapping up the rich black coffee, seemingly inhaling the bitter aroma, as they stood waiting outside the Woolworth Building on Broadway. The area swarming with colourfully goolish Halloween costumed children and young adults that laughed as little kids screamed 'boo' at each other as they walked down the street carrying buckets full of candy. 

"By the way...you owe me $20!"

"Gr...rowl!"   
  


"Yes $20."

  
"Eww!" Jon O'Neill cried out, as he saw a small child dressed as a goblin licking a popsicle seemingly dripping with blood, he had been laughing at Jack's exaggerated eye rolling at the wolf just a moment ago when he had been distracted by the gross spectacle. "Who let's their child eat something like that?"

"Oh! That's just a bloodpop!" Potter laughed, entertained by the look of disgust on Jon's face. "They're actually quite delicious and Goblins especially have a great love of the treat."

"Goblins?" Jon O'Neill looked at the small figure he thought was a kid in shock. "Real, as in, ...like, ...really, real goblins?"

"Yeah!" Potter said with a smirk, politely giving a half bow of the head to the goblin who just sneered with a show of teeth at them both as he walked around them. "They run the banking system in the magical world."

"Doesn't seem the friendly sort!" 

"Aah! That's my fault!" Potter scrubbed a hand through his black hair in embarrassment. "They don't like anyone stealing from their banks and I kinda had to when I was a teenager. I needed to destroy a cup that was filled with a deadly substance from one of the vaults to help stop the war going on at the time. So I ended up stealing it. They still kind of resent that even decades later."

"I always wanted to hear about the whole Harry Potter saves the Wizarding World saga!" Auror Webber enthused, head bobbing in wonder. "The tales of thrilling adventures and untold danger. You should teach my fellow cadet Aurors and I some defense against Dark Magic courses."

"You know...," Jon O'Neill laughed at the sheepish look on Potter's face. "I thought Jack's and my life was unbelievable."

"If I can find the time Auror Webber I would be happy to teach as much as possible before I have to head back to Britain!"

"Hey...look at all the different faces on the pumpkins!" O'Neill said, as he turned from snarking at Gibbs to gaze in admiration at the 60-story tall skyscraper that was aglow from every window with candle light coming from carved pumpkins, the wavering flickers lending a spooky look to the secret location of the Magical Congress of the United States of America. "They sure go all out for Halloween."

"Yes, Halloween...or All Hallows' Eve, as magicals like to call it, is a very special time of the year. A time of true magical power that is celebrated by witches and wizards all around the world." Potter said, watching as the shadows gathered around them shifted and deepen to a pitch black. "This is when the barrier between life and death is at it's weakest and ghosts can visit all those they loved."

"Aww! No thanks." O'Neill glanced around with a shudder at the thought, bad enough dealing with people like Oma coming from a higher plane, let alone the dead. "I already have enough weirdness in my life...I don't need to talk to dead family members!"

"The building itself was finish being constructed around 1913, I believe, and is used by both wizards as the seat of the magical government 'MACUSA' and the No-Maj community for various financial institutes." Potter nodded, glancing over at the tall imposing neo-Gothic style Cathedral. "They moved the magical government out of Washington, DC, to here in New York, because of the Great Sasquatch Rebellion of 1892 that lasted for quite a while and almost exposed all magical society. By the time they managed to regain control they pretty much had to obliviate the whole state. It was a real mess to be honest from what I've read."

"Sasquatch are real also!" Jon O'Neill blurted out, unable to truly believe this statement. "No way!"

"Most creatures you might think are unreal or mythical actually do exist!" Potter laughed, highly amused by the stunned reactions. "Unicorns, mermaids, even dragons!"

"Dragons!"

"Yes! I will have to show you a penseive memory of my time in school where I had to go up against a nesting mother to steal a fake egg once and also when I escaped from the bank after stealing the cup on the back of a dragon...fun times as you Americans like to say!" Potter said, shaking his head again in wonder that he was still alive, before frowning in thought. It might be a really good idea to use the penseive to share various aspects of magical and muggle societies and experiences, to help deal with the current situation. It was definitely something to bring up during the council meeting, which if they didn't get a hustle on they might end up being late. "Let's head in as I think Gibbs is finally finished with his coffee and we do have a meeting with President Quahog this evening."

"What time is it anyway?" O'Neill asked, after glancing at the broken face of his wristwatch. "My watch is toast! It must have broken on the landing in the park."

"Here, let me fix that." Potter waved his wand quickly over the leather watch with a swirling motion. 

  
"REPARO!"

  
"It's close to midnight....approximately 15 minutes away according to your watch!" Potter shrugged as he headed towards the revolving doors that were recessed directly under high imposing gothic arched windows, only hesitating for a brief moment as he waved his wand at the outline of an owl carved in stone that was hidden just above the door, and waved the group forward through the spinning door.

O'Neill paused to allow Gibbs into the small space with him and tentatively pushed the door forward...only for it to suddenly start to spin, slowly at first, then faster, and faster, and faster, until it was spinning so fast it was a blur...before it suddenly spat them out so that they slid half way across the black marble floor before stopping in the middle of the entrance.

A truly awe inspiring entrance consisting of a brilliantly lit grand lobby with a cathedral like atmosphere, and an impossiblely high ceiling that seemed to reach to the very heavens.

Moving further into the vast open space of the hall that led to a grand staircase, O'Neill and Gibbs looked in amazement at the surrounding art deco motif lobby and foyer, a plaque on a pedestal by a group of statues that stated that the elaborate monument that dominated the entrance paid homage to the tragedy of the Salem Witch Trials. The very event that led to the total separation of magical and non magicals in North America.

"Wow!" Jon O'Neill gazed about in wonder himself at the place, spying a little house elf sitting just off to the side of the entrance, industriously polishing wands that were handed to him by people coming in from the street. "Jack! This place is surreal."

"No..no! Dogs not allowed!" Cried the little elf as it ran over, ears flapping, to shoo the wolf back outside. Gibbs just growled sharply, showing his fangs, causing it to squeak in alarm and quickly disappear with a small popping sound.

"That was mean!" O'Neill smirked at the wolf, who just glared at him for a second, then proceeded to ignore him as he wandered around, looking up at elevators that seems to zoom with impossible speed into the very heavens, the windows creating a rainbow of colour that shimmered. 

Black marble floors glisten with shadows and light, constantly shifting as the four enormous phoenixes on top of marble pillars rustled their metal wings, the hard gold glint of the feathers causing flares of light to spark like fire. Their heads angled sharply down to peer at him and he crouched low to snarl a warning. They sat quietly as he slowly skulked up the center stairs, assessing his surroundings with a wary glance, watching as though he was prey.

  
"Welcome!"

  
"Minister Potter! Major General O'Neill!" President Quahog greeted, standing dressed in full formal silk black robes just at the top of the grand staircase with the great seal of the Magical United States Eagle behind him, waved with broad gestures for them to come up. "I welcome you to the Magical Congress of the United States. I am delighted to meet you both even under these circumstances."

"Thank you President Quahog!" Potter nodded politely, walking up the stairs along with the others. "I, as well as O'Neill I'm sure, also wish the visit was for a better reason than what we find ourselves."

"Yes! Greetings, Mr. President!" "O'Neill stated. "The tragic events at the Smithsonian earlier tonight is hopefully something we can prevent happening again with your peoples assistance. I am amazed at the wonders I have seen and would love a tour at some point after our meeting if you would indulge me."

"Yes, if we get a change after dealing with this utter madness!" President Quahog smiled broadly, before turning somber as he gesture up towards the ceiling at an enormous heavy looking structure that was faintly reminiscent of a station clock that was glowing with a gloomy blue light. The device hung dead center in the foyer like a spectre haunting the entire hall. "Unfortunately we are currently under a Level Three High Alert Code Blue situation."

"What exactly is this structure?" O'Neill asked, the device reminded him vaguely of the Nuclear alert. "It looks like some type of warning system."

"It is!" President Quahog stated emphatically, expounding on the marvelous invention. "This is the Magical Exposure Threat Measurer. It was created around 1926 by a massive team of magicals to warn of impending threats. It is an instrument that works like a meteorological barometer that can predict a change in weather. However, this device is so much more powerful than that and can predict danger to our community and our whole way of living."

"How?" O'Neill asked, shaking his head in amazement, wondering how that was even possible. "Wouldn't that take a lot of magic?"

"This whole building is like a giant focusing rod and was build on huge underground leylines," President Quahog replied with a proud nod. "The sheer amount of power generated by the magic of these leylines saturates ever portion of the structure and this is then fed directly into the device via the various combined conductive metals of the chain holding it." 

"Wow!

"It is amazing!" Potter noted, with interest. "I wish magical Britain had something similar as it might have prevented some of the extreme atrocities over the decades."

"Yes! It truly is a marvel!" President Quahog looked up at it in pride. "The various departments have been hard at work since earlier this evening when it went to Code Blue and have been scrying all magical activity in North and South America. They have gathered all their research and are meeting in the Pentagram Office on the highest floor of this building. It has more than enough space for us to discuss what needs to be done. 

"The situation and the enemy is extremely dangerous and I will need my team to be able to be present to fully inform the committee as they are the experts in the Goa'uld." O'Neill stated, wanting to establish a mutual working relationship right from the start. "Dr. Jackson alone is a vast resource of knowledge that we will need immediately to help figure out the extent of the situation we find ourselves in."

"That should be no problem!" President Quahog nodded in agreement. "Let's take one of the elevators up to the top floor and we will discuss it further."

O'Neill nodded sharply, glancing at the wolf who also seemed to be feeling a heightened sense of unease if his constant looking around and snarling was indicative of anything, glad to get going on the whole thing as he didn't think they had a lot of time...the darkening shadows were starting to give him a sense of deepening dread.

  
"Sq..e......k......g!"  
  
  
Startled, O'Neill jerked his head up towards the clock looming overhead with dread at the sound of the device squeaking as it started to sway in a pendulum fashion and then trembled and groaned as if in pain.

  
"Gr..o......n.....g!"

  
A groan sounded again and again as it steadily got louder and louder as the large measurer shuddered and a harsh grinding noise started up and the spindly black metal arm and hand slowly started to move, ticking ever so slightly as it moved, and a piercing whistle sounded a harsh alarm. 

  
"Pi....r.......c.....g!"

  
POP! POP!

  
A few young eager Aurors with sharp looking leather colonial style trench coats with freshly polished buttons done up all the way to the collar, immediately apparated into place in front of the device, waiting patiently for it to tell them the location of the disaster, ready to do their duty to prevent any dangerous situation from escalating.

  
"Wa...i.....l........g!"

  
POP! POP! POP!

  
Aurors landed in tighter groups as the device let out several piercing wails, glancing at each other with deep concerned and alarm, wondering what horror was about to unfold. What could possible be happening? The device had never done this in all their years working in this building.

  
"Sh...r......i........g!"

  
POP! POP! POP! POP! POP!

  
A swarm of Aurors apparated in, some obviously having been woken up by the wail of the alarm, as disoriented, they struggled to put on their coats, some startling as the clock began to shriek and vibrate with even more ominous sounds of doom as the black hands moved with a glacial slowness from the gloomy cold blue of the High Alert to land with a resounding echoing thud on the glaring sickly yellow of Danger!.

  
DOOM! 

  
DOOM!   
  


  
**DOOM!!!**

  



	11. MACUSA Attacked!

MACUSA - Magical Congress

  
DOOM!   


DOOM!

As the device shrieked ever louder a mass of fiery sparks erupted from the warning system with a massive hiss and a single piece of singed parchment, smoke trailing behind, shot from the very center of it and in a swirl of flames zipped overhead of loudly shouting Aurors and wixen towards President Quahog to land with a sizzle in his outstretched hand.

"Where are we apparating?"  
"What's happening?"  
"How many?....Who's going?...Do we need...? How bad...?"

  
"SILENCIO!"

  
Deathly quiet descended over the vast hall as the spell cut off all sound, an utter absence that made the silence even more noticeable, as all the magicals...hurrying politicians late for meetings, arguing business men in sombre suits, shop keeps handing out spooky Halloween treats, grizzly ghosts, snarling goblin bankers, little elves cleaning up messes, and more, turned to look towards the President as he quickly shook the note several times to cool it off so he could read it. Only for them to see him pale, quite noticeably, that paleness becoming a ghastly white the further he read. A slight tremor in his hand loosened the parchment to flutter to the black marble floor, where it laid for a moment, before he raised his head. Trying to get his voice loud enough to be heard by everyone in the foyer, he gave up and lowly whispered 'Sonorous!' to allow his voice to shout out loud and clear for all to hear the dire news:

  
"MACUSA IS UNDER ATTACK!"

"BATTLE STATIONS!"

  
Shocked silence seemed to last for eons as the words echoed and re-echoed in the vast building, getting louder and louder as they swirled upward in a cry of alarm that caused the wixen... who had been strolling happily laughing through the various Halloween festivities that were filled with skeletons serving drinks, children giggling as they breathed fire and smoke from eating the fiery black pepper Imps and exploding chocolate bonbons, carving pumpkins, drawings of hideous magical beasts that roared and screeched as they moved, goblins showing off weapon skills, the ghost of Alexander Hamilton who was visiting for the evening as his grave was only a few blocks away at Trinity Church, telling spooky ghost stories in a candle lit corner as children sat mesmerized, fellow ghosts helping re-enact the stories in the air above him, ...to freeze in absolute stunned horror.

"AURORS TO ASSIGNED DEFENSE POSITIONS!" Auror Thompson sharply cried out, his voice amplified to resound throughout the grand foray, waving his new wand to swiftly create fiery red warning howlers and firing them off on wings of flame to all levels of the 60-floor building. "ALL CITIZENS AND EMPLOYEES PLEASE PROCEED TO EVACUATION DEPARTURE ZONES IMMEDIATELY!"

  
Chaos...absolute chaos...crying kids immediately pulled away from their fun by panicked parents...spilling pumpkin juice...trampled cauldron cakes on the floor...left behind soaking in water ...a broken apple barrel...knocked over...Aurors gestured them quickly to authorized escape points...ghosts and house elves helping them...panicked group after panic group...popping away with sharp cracks...hurrying...trying to get out as fast as possible...faster...sensing they didn't have a lot of time left to escape.

Panic and terror...as the last group of parents couldn't apparate...there was no way out...it had closed.....warded shut. 

  
"EXPULSO!"  
  
  
CRASH!

  
Thousands of windows exploded as the spells that kept them from breaking failed with harsh cracking sounds as they were blasted apart by repeated bombardments, crashing down in a rainfall of glass and flaming candles. With sharp piercing cries the four immense phoenixes that resided upon marble columns in the foyer immediately leaped up into the air spreading their gold metal wings in a desperate attempt to protect as many of the building's residents from the deadly deluge as possible, sobs of terror and pain rose, as some people hadn't managed to move fast enough. Rising alongside the phoenixes cries came added shouts of "PROTEGO!" screamed out from impossibly young voices as the eager young volunteer Aurors of just moments ago turned into desperate scrambling defenders as they worked to save as many of the screaming crowd as possible.

  
  
  
"REDUCTO!"

Smash...crack...blast!!

Stone and glass were instantly pulverized into dust as blasts of immense dark magic boiled through the opening reducing the front entrance to ruble, splashing against walls and seeping into stone as a dozen wizards came swarming through casting bombardment after bombardment that decimated a group of Aurors that had just moved into position with wands ready, no time to even defend themselves, as ever more deadly spells sought out people running for cover.

Kek stood revealed in the shattered entrance like a dark cloud as black magic poured from him, as with a wave of a menacing metal hand, he carved the very limb, in a spray of blood that splattered everywhere, from a ax-wielding goblin that had just raised his weapon to charge him.

  
  
"I am Kek, God of Darkness and Chaos!"

  
Gibbs snarled in rage, as Kek stood before them once more, even more dangerous than he had been before, as the arm that Gibbs had torn off with his fangs just a couple of hours ago was now a fused twisted metal contraption that held dozens of glittering gem stones. These gems were dozens of small diamonds that swirled around a center focus stone. An enormous blue diamond that blazed with dark energy that enhanced the natural magic to a more lethal combination. The Hope Diamond. A stone of such a cursed reputation that legend considered it evil personified. 

  
Growling he leaped towards the hated figure, ready to tear him apart, only to be smashed aside into a marble column that his skull hit hard with a resounding crack. 

  
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

A dark green sped towards were he laid, glowing with a deadly light, when a piece of broken stone lying in front of him wriggled violently and suddenly transformed into a shield that deflect the spell away form him and into the wall where it bled away.

"PROTEGO!" Potter shouted again, and again, as he erected protective barriers around the unconscious wolf, and other people unable to flee as they laid bleeding on the floor, seeking to ensure they're safety before turning to engage the menacing being that stood bearing his friend's image.   
  
  


"Worm! You will bow before me!"

"Well...I don't bow to insane creatures!"

Angry at the puny human who stood defiant, Kek blasted spell after spell towards Potter in an effort to reduce him to a bloody smear on the ground, only for him to deflect each one. They dueled around the hall smashing into each other with blasts of magic over and over again as the other attackers spread out to destroy as much as possible in absolute maddening destruction as they fired death spells and incendios left and right around the hall.

"REDUCTO!" ...the elevator blasted apart...bodies falling.

  
"PROTEGO!"

"INCENDIO!" ...a young mother threw her child to safety in desperation as flames engulfed her.  
  


"PROTEGO!"  
  


  
"SECTUMSEMPRA!"

"Ahhhh!" Auror Webber screamed, landing in a spray of blood, her torso slashed open as she desperately flung spell after spell at her two opponents to protect a group of children as Jon fired his zat repeatedly, the energy blasts from the weapon helping to distract them otherwise they would already have been killed.

"Rosemary!" Auror Baum cried out, from where she had been kneeling over a man trying to save him, knowing she would not be in time to stop the two Wizards from killing her friend. "No!"

"INCARCAROUS!" Auror Thompson screamed from behind, managing to bind one of them in thick ropes, just as Jon scored a direct hit on the other.

"Za...p!"

"INCARCAROUS!" ...shouted out as a wizard tried to throw a bombardment spell....ropes snapping around the man like a boa constrictor.

"Za...p!"

“REDUCTO!” ...stairs exploding in a shower of rubble.

  
  
  
"INCENDIO!"

  
"Potter...move!" Jon O'Neill shouted, as it looked like a spell would smash into his back, even as the wizard bent and twisted around to fire a spell into the attacker. Spell after spell spinning around him in a flurry of bright light.

  
  


"B....o....n....g!!" 

Midnight! 

The clock struck the hour and a wave of magic rippled throughout the building as it rang out in a long drawn out mourning sound the announcement of All Hallows' Eve!

Ghostly outlines of wispy figures seeped out of the dark shadows as the barriers between life and death lowered enough for them to finally cross over. Ghosts, who hadn't chosen to stay behind only had one brief moment of the year where they could interact with the living world, came pouring out to begin a swirling macabre dance of death as they flew around the hall trying to help defend their loved ones.

  
  


"PROTEGO!" ...shouted Potter over and over ever more rapidly in a blaze of magic. 

"ACCIO!" ... a child went whipping out of the way of a cutting spell towards an Auror.

  
"Za...p!"

  
"REDUCTO!" ...exploded a wall in a shower of dust as an enemy managed to get a spell by Aurors holding that battle zone.

“EXPULSO!” ...screams of pain as people trying to hide behind a column had limbs torn from their bodies as it exploded.

  
“PROTEGO!”

"EXPELLIARMUS!" ...a wand wrenched away as a wizard aimed to kill several Aurors.

“Za...p!”

“EXPULSO!”

  
Ghosts repeatedly diving in and out of the attackers in mass groups in an effort to freeze and confuse them to the point they would not be able to aim their wands properly!.  
  


  
"EXPULSO!" ...part of a wall collapses on two Goblins crushing them to death as they try to protect several wounded witches.

  
"Za...p!"   
  
  


"Za...p!" O'Neill fired his zat again, hitting the wizard he had been aiming at dead center, before dodging a spell that got too close, spells filling the air in a constant flash of light. About to shoot again he quickly reached out to grab a tiny little girl dressed as a fairy princess by the hand, who had obviously been lost by her parents in the noise and chaos as people rushed to get to safety, before stopping dead still, when she suddenly zipped away on fast beating wings straight out of a broken window aided by a quick spell of protection from Potter.

  
  
"PROTEGO!" 

A ghostly Lily smiled sadly at her son before turning away to dive again and again into a wizard that was about to harm a little boy.

  
  


"INCENDIO!"

  
"Aaahh!" O'Neill cried out startled, rapidly returning fire at the wizard with his zat gun, as he quickly ducked behind a marble column as the spell hit in a blaze of flames the very spot he had been standing in, having paused ever so briefly, to stare in amazement as she flew away. "Fairy's! Pay attention Jack...you'll end up toasted if you let yourself get distracted again!"

"INCENDIO!"

  
Jerking back behind the column, having tried to get another shot off, Jack could only look on in horror as a little house elf, who had been valiantly directing a group of panicked children and parents to safety, was suddenly engulfed in a blaze of flames and incinerated right in front of them. He was certain that they would be engulfed themselves as another spell was screamed out, when a Phoenix swooped down to land, and wrapping his enormous gold wings around the screaming group, allowed the flames to engulf it to protect them.

Charlie fluttered hidden nearby to watch his father for a brief moment then slowly let himself fade away.

"You humans are so weak and pathetic!"

  
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

  
"Bram! Look out!"  
  
  
Turning sharply at the warning shouted by Baum, Auror Thompson saw a bright acid green light come shooting towards him from Kek's metal hand, when he suddenly went down with a snapping sound and a flurry of tangled limbs as Gibbs leaped onto his back to knock him out of the way having just regained consciousness barely in time to react. The spell hit one of the attackers instead...causing him to drop dead with a smack right in front of them.

  
"You will bow down to me!"

  
"AVADA KEDAVRA! 

  
"REDUCTO!"

  
Several of the wizards defending President Quahog dropped dead instantly as they were struck, causing the rest to scramble to protect him by shoving him behind the Salem monument with a shielding charm, as they hurtle spells to take out his attacker, only for it to be smashed apart by a huge blast from the energy of Kek's focus diamond as it glowed a deep dark blue in a blaze of black magic!

  
"I will be back little worms!"

CRACK!

.....Kek disappeared suddenly....

  
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

...the rest of the enemy combatants immediately apparated out of the building leaving devastation behind.

  
Dead and wounded lying in pools of blood.

  
Dazed, the defenders looked around in blank shock and horror, unable to believe that it might be over, overwhelmed by what had happened. They stood frozen in place for long moments unable to function, as the dust caused by all the explosions slowly settled to the ground, when medi-witches started to run to help as many of the downed wizards as they could. Cries of pain came from little children who had been wounded along with their parents as ghosts hovered in grief for loved ones before slowly turning to wisps and fading away unable to help any further.

  
A faint image of a girl near Gibbs faded to nothingness.

"Is it over?" Auror Baum asked, black hair slowly turning a lighter shade of sombre purple, as she waved her wand in intricate patterns over her friend desperately trying to stop the bleeding that was gushing out of the cut on her torso.

"For now!" Potter said grimly as he looked around. "It looks like it."

"Yes...for now!" O'Neill said tiredly. "The snake will be back."

  
"Damn it!" Auror Thompson suddenly cried out in disgust, as he paused, having just managed to wrestle his way back to his feet from under the wolf, to stare in disbelief at the broken stick he held. "You cost me another bloody wand!"

Gibbs gave a tired halfhearted growl at the comment.

  
"You're paying for a new one wolf!"  


  


  
Snarling, Gibbs looked around...hunting for what was bugging him about the whole thing...something didn't sit well with him. It was a devastating attack that looked like they had only just beaten back the attackers but ...they stopped when they were winning. Why stop? It didn't make sense to the wolf. To make them complacent? Why? Something wasn't right....snarl...they wanted something...what?...what did they want?...this was some sort of raid.

"Yeah!" Shaking his head, O'Neill looked at the growling wolf. "I agree. Something isn't right!"

"What?" President Quahog asked worried, wiping dust across his face in sweaty streaks, as he slowly raised himself from where he had been tossed. "What isn't right?"

"I don't want to be a pessimist, but...," O'Neill grimaced, looking seriously at the others for a second, before glancing around at all the damage done to the foyer and the blood soaking the marble floor. "That was way too easy for the amount of power he was throwing around."

"Yes." Potter nodded, agreeing. "I think this was just a distraction."

  
Gibbs snarled.


End file.
